


Souvenirs

by mommywrites



Series: Marinette and Adrien go to China [3]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M, Time Shenanigans, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-06
Updated: 2020-11-04
Packaged: 2021-03-04 03:02:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 60
Words: 167,876
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24576505
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mommywrites/pseuds/mommywrites
Summary: This is the sequel to 'Marinette and Adrien go to China'.(This is a sequel, a prequel and whatever you see in it.)The story line will jump through time in all directions!
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, multiple
Series: Marinette and Adrien go to China [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1615681
Comments: 60
Kudos: 70





	1. Souvenirs

**Author's Note:**

> No, they did not bring the virus!  
> It is hard to tell when and where this story begins, so it picks up right at the moment when 'Marinette and Adrien go to China' finishes, the first day of school after the holidays.

It was strange for both Marinette and Adrien to be back at school, strange and familiar at the same time. The school break lasted only two weeks. That was not much time. But so much have happened for the both of them within that short span of time.

They went to China, together, with her parents and his bodyguard while they were hiding from Gabriel and Nathalie who travelled there too. And they both hid the true purpose of the voyage for each of them, because they had to keep their superhero identities a secret.

The two teens reached the recovered temple of the guardians and it was the monks there who recognized them and made them reveal their identities identities to each other. It was the monks who made them realize who Hawk Moth and Mayura were.

Traditionally, the guardians and the wielders, as well as the monks, underwent schooling and training that took years to complete, but as they both took in regular school, and were tried in combat against magical villains so many times, the monks let them fight the two villains and their monsters.

The monsters started to appear at and around the temple as soon as Gabriel and Nathalie arrived to the camp below. Ladybug and Chat Noir pretended they teleported from Paris for each fight, but they never entered the temple transformed, because advised not to do so.

Adrien and Marinette faced Hawk Moth and Mayura as civilians, fought and won by ripping the butterfly pin and the peacock brooch of their suits, all while Marinette’s cousin Ling was streaming it straight to Alya’s blog. The two teens were not fighting alone, they had help from two young monks from the temple, Pema and Dorje and Marinette’s cousin Ye stepped in too. But it would not have worked without the temple magic that drained the miraculous and tampered with the magic if the wielders were transformed on the temple premisses.

Marinette and Adrien were allowed to leave the temple as schooled and trained wielders, their worth proven in battle, and they got to share the duty of a guardian, but by all means, they were expected to share a life, and therefore the monks performed a small ceremony after which the two kids were married, at least according to the ancient rules.

Gabriel and Nathalie were left in the prison in China. Their memories were erased by an ancient magic invoked by Tenzin, the old monk that lead the temple school. But both Gabriel and Nathalie got their belongings back and as they were digging through their diaries and other files they collected there over the years, they managed to restore some of the facts for the years they have lost, albeit not together, and the resulting feelings were somewhat different.

The travel home for the two heroes was long, but they used the time to deal with the feelings for each other as well as the problem of Adrien being a minor and without a parent. But the support of his friends had kept everything in a positive perspective.

They returned to school and were greeted as heroes, but they both knew that their identities had to remain a secret for the rest of the world. Because they were guardians and permanent wielders and they were to expect future missions and assignements.

Lila finally exposed herself, she was in school with a teaching assistant, Mlle Rosa Benini, a student of psychology who volunteered to help out troubled students.

Chloe was not thrilled with the idea that Adrien went on a trip to China with Marinette, especially since she only found out about it when the rest of the world did (during the final battle), but she decided to set aside those cheap feelings and take the matter in her own hands as the queen that she was.

Adrien was looking forward to moving in with Nino. Although that meant he was going to be separated from Marinette for the first time in eighteen days. Not only Marinette, but his lady too. And that was making him anxious. But he was looking forward to spending more time with his friends.

They were back to school, on a Monday morning and after a few classes things started to look normal again and the two teens got lulled into a pretence that they were just two teenagers going to school again. The lunch bell rang and Mme Mendeleev dismissed the class.

“I can’t believe you brought us souvenirs!” Alix snickered at a small item she just got from Marinette. Adrien reached into the bag, consulted Marinette and gave the next magnet to Juleka.

They distributed the fridge magnets among their classmates. They did bring something extra for Alya, Nino and Chloe. They felt obliged. Even Lila got a magnet. The girl wanted to throw it away but Rosa, her learning assistant, caught her hand and led her out of the class. The rest of the class dragged the duo into the school courtyard. It was story telling time.

Each of the students just had to tell exactly where they were and what they were doing when the final battle with Hawk Moth had unfolded. Even those who did not follow them religiously tuned in the moment it became known that civilians were fighting them, and when the first classmate recognized them, the news spread like a virus.

“I can’t believe the two of you shared a bed.” Alya teased. Of course, out of all the photos of the monuments, their travel, the airplane and the train, the teenagers were the most interested into that bit of information.

“We didn’t really.” Marinette blushed and waved her hands while Alya, Nino and Adrien were snickering. “I mean we did, but it wasn’t like that. You make it sound like we ...”

The fact was that the whole class was listening, perhaps the whole school, because they were in the school yard at the time, and there was really high probability that someone was making a video of the whole show. Max might have computed the exact numbers, but he kept quiet because there was a story to be told.

“Come on, my parents and your bodyguard were always there.” Marinette wanted to smack that Chat Noir grin straight off Adrien’s face.

“Not after we left Lhasa.” The boy teased.

Marinette blushed. Then she sat down in protest. If he wanted to tell the story, he was perfectly able to stand and talk. She could sit and cover her burning cheeks. It was not as if there was any option to hide that part. They had to give this curious beasts (their classmates) something to chew on, and they could not straight out admit that they were Ladybug and Chat Noir.

“The thing is, it is really cold to sleep outside in Tibet.” Adrien spoke in a tone of mystery. There were a few giggles and laughs while several students already whistled as they anticipated what was coming next. “So the best way to preserve body heat is to share it.”

Tell that in front of a school full of hormones. Marinette wanted to smack that boy. Ever since they returned, his Chat was showing so much that it did not matter how many tricks Bunnix pulled, he was going to give himself away. She narrowed her eyes at him. Adrien schooled himself down.

“You slept outside?” Someone asked a decent question.

“Well not really outside, but in a room with no heating or in a tent.” The boy shrugged. But his face revealed just how proud and excited about the whole thing the boy was.

Marinette agreed to show photos from their travel later in the library, after this lunch break that will never end and after few more classes in the afternoon. Since Adrien gave all the photos to Nino and Alya, the choice on which photos to show was on their best friends, so Marinette knew that shutting up was only postponing the inevitable.

“But first we were flying to Beijing.” Adrien smiled and looked at Marinette. She blushed, oh she remembered well how he was using her as a teddy bear and a sleeping pillow on the flight. “Then we did some sightseeing with Marinette’s relatives and then we boarded the train.”

Adrien could talk. Marinette noticed. He was able to tell a story about a forty hour train journey that sounded like it was a fun thing to do. But then it became obvious that it was really a fun experience for him.

“Then we did some sightseeing in Lhasa and the next morning we were on a bus to the temple.” Adrien continued.

“There is a bus line?” Alix inquired.

“Oh, no.” And then the boy explained all the oddities, including a little cheat they placed to actually get on a bus and be allowed to go to the temple.

“Come on, I want to hear the part where you sleep together.” Kim teased.

“We actually just slept.” Marinette groaned. “And I would have friezed if we did not share a sleeping bag, so shut up.”

Adrien chuckled.

“So what did you do in the temple?” Chloe huffed. She did not want to hear anything about how Adrien and Marinette were sleeping together. It was hard for her to accept that the two of them were apparently together but she did not need to hear any more details about that, thank you very much.

Marinette was grateful to Chloe. Until the only thing on her mind was the training for the miraculous wielders and the battles and she had nothing that she could actually tell.

“Well, we had the water duty.” Adrien dragged. “Then we cooked meals. We ate with the monks. We listened to their stories.”

“And where did you sleep?” Rose piped in.

“Rose!” Marinette hissed.

“Most of the students slept in one large hall, including us, maybe some students slept somewhere else if there was not enough space, I really wouldn’t know.” Adrien shrugged.

“How romantic.” Rose cooed.

“What?” Chloe raised an eyebrow.

“You slept on the floor?” Ivan asked.

“We did not really sleep in proper beds for 16 days.” Adrien replied.

“They had proper beds in the train.” Marinette protested.

“Well, the beds on a train are hardly proper beds.” Ivan acknowledged.

“And I loved every moment of it.” Adrien added.

That earned several howls.

Marinette flushed and covered her cheeks.

‘ _We travelled half the world, we beaten freaking Hawk Moth and Mayura and all they want to know is how we slept together. Freaking teenagers and their freaking hormones.’_ Marinette thought to herself. ‘ _At least they are not asking about us being Ladybug and Chat Noir_.’ She told herself to stay quiet and let them have their fun.

Adrien was having so much fun telling the story. He spent the school break with his lady and he knew her identity and she was Marinette and she loved him and the sun was shining and the birds were singing and he was just so happy.

None of the students was asking about Hawk Moth. Nor Mayura. Because Hawk Moth was Gabriel Agreste, Adrien’s father, and Mayura was his assistant. So nobody wanted to ask Adrien about his father, the villain who terrorized Paris with his akuma and who was currently in prison in China and awaited trial or extradition or something.

And the boy was obviously very happy talking about beds and sleeping bags, about getting two warm onesies for him and Marinette, and Tibetan tea and cheese?

They explained how they cooked noodles, cleaned up in cold water, and what they were wearing and eating. The more the boy was speaking about the cobblestones and old buses, about walking over cold streams and sleeping on plain ground or hard floor, about cooking simple foods in the temple or making instant noodles, and about freaking Tibetan tea, and the boy kept being happy about each and every step of the way, the more Chloe realized they were indeed never meant to be.

Marinette finally relaxed and decided to go with the flow. She still blushed at each question that involved a bed or a sleeping bag, but the boy she loved was so happy when he was telling the story that she did not mind to blush once in a while.

Well, once in a while.

Not all the time.

The boy looked at her with those dreamy eyes and it was like all her dreams came true. Well they still had to find a house and have three kids and a hamster … It was still a long way there.

“Come on, they slept in freaking onesies, it was as if each of them was in a sleeping bag of their own before they packed themselves in that big sack.” Alya shouted at Kim who just could not stop nagging about it.

Marinette blushed when she noticed that most of their teachers and even the school principal stood around the school yard and listened to their story. Great, how was she going to look any of her teachers in their eyes now that they all knew that she spent all her nights sharing anything you could sleep on with Adrien Agreste?

Adrien shut his mouth and observed Marinette.

“I know you are going to plaster this all over your social media, but please beware that hypothermia is a serious issue when one is in the mountains and one could never be too careful about it.” The boy recited his excuse and schooled his face the way he was trained. He could already see the tabloids and the gossip news. Perhaps Marinette could ask Nadia Chamack to invite a few experts to her studio who would explain how what they did was absolutely necessary.

Alya took the hint so her and Nino decided to go through the choice of photos once more. The boy was a teenage star, and that unfortunately meant that his right for a private life was something that came with a price. Not to mention that he was also the son of Hawk Moth and the boy who defeated him.

“Listen everybody.” Alya took the stand. “Our friends are telling us how they spent their holidays, this does not have to reach the media, okay?” She demanded.

Aurore and Mirelle crossed their arms and pouted but both also muttered okay.

“Can Marc and me make a comic book about you?” Nathaniel asked quietly.

Marinette hid her face again. Adrien smiled and shrugged.

Fortunately the bell rang and they had to head back to the classroom for a set of afternoon classes.


	2. He

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Introducing a character.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Time: more than two centuries ago.  
> Place: Tibetan plateau.

He

He was born. Everyone was born once. So He was born too. He was born during the night of a full moon. It was cold and the snow covered the valley between the mountains that they lived in. They named him He and moved up and down the valley between the cold and the colder season.

The sheep and the yak needed to graze the grass, not to mention horses that his family had. “This is the Wakhan corridor, only the toughest men live here. You lived five winters and survived, you are going to be a strong man.” his father said once and the boy was proud.

But that narrow valley between mountains that touched the sky suddenly became very interesting to some kings that lived really really far away. Soldiers came and claimed the valley. Then the winter came and the soldiers left, but the locals had less sheep and yak.

Other soldiers came the next season and then the winter came and they left. But then some wild tribes came and drove them away. They had to leave, they barely saved half of their yaks and sheep while they loaded their horses and left their valley.

They went towards the side of the world where the sun was rising in the morning. Because those tribes came from the side where the sun was setting in the evening. They were lucky that they managed to salvage any of their possessions.

At least they were able to find some green pastures in the wide valley they descended into. The area was slightly warmer and wide and wild. Well, at least as wild as the valley where they used to live. But they had to move, because they were used to moving the whole time.

He was named simply He. He had an older brother and a sister. He also had one younger sister. They told him more were born over the years, but they did not live for long. He remembered just one, little brother that was born in the winter before they had to leave.

They told him that it was normal to lose babies like that. But he was sad anyway. He wanted to have a little brother. He did not want to be the little brother his whole life. Because his older brother was big and strong too.

He learned how to ride a horse while they still lived in the valley. He was riding on the horse in front of his brother or his father ever since he learned how to walk, or even sooner, they told him. But one day he was riding on a horse that was led by his father.

When He was strong enough they let him steer a horse. It was an old mare that would probably do the same even if He did no pull the strings. But he did and the horse did what was expected so it was concluded that He knew how to ride a horse.

They moved form place to place. They raised sheep and yak and a few goats. They used their milk to make food and they sold them on markets to purchase other food. Sometimes it was hard and they barely had enough food to eat, but there was always some.

His mother waved wool and knitted warm clothes, but sometimes they sold a piece or two at the market, just to get something else they needed. That was the way they lived, you always had to give up on something to get something else.

Markets were fantastic places. He was able to see many wonders there. More often than not, He would get lost between other wagons and cattle and people. There were all sorts of miracles to see there. His older brother would always find him.

Sometimes it was hard to find a decent area for their cattle to graze. Sometimes they would move away because someone would warn them that one or another army was about to pass. And that was bad, because armies eat and took the food from them.

So they moved further and further away from the valley where He was born. His father told him it was okay, that the pastures there were better than in the valley that they had left. But there were vast areas without water and cattle needed water.

His mother gave birth to another boy. He was happy, he was going to be an older brother. And this baby lived. He had to work a lot more, to help his mother, to take care of the cattle, to collect milk from the yak, and the sheep and the goats.

It was a bad year, they said. They had to find green pastures somewhere else. There were green pastures somewhere far. And those green pastures were not already taken. Not too many people wanted to go there, it was a strange place, his father was told.

There were all sorts of monsters and magical beings that roamed the plains. Sometimes there were storms that appeared out of nowhere, which was not strange for the mountains, but in the high plains you were able to see from where it was coming from.

A man on a fair was telling a tale so full of magic and mystery that nobody believed it was the truth. The story was about magical beings and monsters who fought epic battles between them and could cause mountains and rivers to move.

But amidst of it all enchanted area, the legend said, there was an enchanted temple that the magical beings never ventured in. It was a safe place with monks so old and wise that they could cure diseases and make grass grow.

There were other story tellers at the fair. Some played with dolls while they were telling a story, but few of them were reading from objects they called books. Those objects contained pages and pages covered in mysterious symbols that they could read.

He asked his father if he could learn to read. “You are not forbidden my son, but neither me nor your mother can teach you. You need to find a place of wisdom where wise men would teach you how to read and make those symbols.” His father said.

So they ventured, over land so deserted that nobody was there, and nothing. Not a human, nor goat, nor sheep, nor a horse, no grass and no water for that matter. Only sand and stone. But his father was told how and where to go and after a whole day of walking they found water in the evening.

The next day they followed the stream and found a small patch of green where their cattle could graze. It was not enough to sustain them for a long period, but they could stay for a day or two to recover. Then they continued to walk and follow the stream.

The journey lasted almost as all stages of the moon, but finally they reached part of the high plains that was green as far as the eyes could see. Or at least to the white snow covered peaks in the distance. That was it, they found the place.

They settled easily, there was plenty of grass for their cattle and they gave plenty of milk. But they needed to find other people, they needed to trade and get other supplies. And going back to the market where they came from only to trade was too far and treacherous.

He and his brother ventured away to try and find some signs of other people or a settlement. They set on their horses and rode up to a top of a hill to get a better view. He was still young, so he had to decide where to go and tell his father before he left.

Far in the distance he saw a small peak. It was oddly shaped peak and distinguished itself from its surroundings. Without giving it further consideration, He pointed to his father that he was going in that direction.

“Good, if you are not back by the night fall I will send your sister for you as soon as the light is back.” His father told him and squeezed his hand to greet him. “Be brave my boy and find what we all need you to find.” And then his father pushed his horse to go.

His brother went in the opposite direction. His father stayed with his mother and a baby brother and two sisters. Someone had to stay with the cattle and his father did not want to send his daughters away on their own.

The sun was already quite high when He recognized that the peak he wanted to reach was in fact a temple. Or that was what he thought it was. The only temples he saw before were rather obscure and small, and this one was really large.

He was so focused on reaching the temple that he entirely forgot to look around and check if there are other human settlements around. His horse was tired and the sun was already descending for some time when he finally reached the steps below the temple.

He found a source of water and steps that lead up the cliff. He and his horse drank the water and then the boy ascended the steps while the horse was left to graze the grass below. Excited to finally see the temple, the boy ran up the steps and lost his breath in the process.

There, at the door to the temple, He met an old man. The man smiled at the boy gently and greeted him with a raised hand. The boy stopped and raised his hand in a similar manner. Suddenly, He was aware that he had no idea what he wanted to say.

“What have you come here for, my boy.” The man asked. He stroked his beard and observed the boy with his eyes that seamed to pierce into the very soul of any creature he looked at. The boy stared back for a while before he remembered what his business was.

“My father sent me to find other people on this plain. We have cattle and cheese to sell and we need to buy grains for food.” The boy panted and recited what he was instructed to say. But deep inside he knew that that was not what he really wanted.

“Good, we can purchase cheese from you, but we have little grains to sell, we have to get them ourselves. But there is a small settlement in that direction where you could trade some more.” The old man spoke and observed the boy carefully.

“But first, tell me something about yourself.” The old man ordered. So the man and the boy were brought some tea and they sat on a rock and the boy talked and talked about his dreams and wishes, reading and writing, tales and legends about magical creatures.

The boy was invited to spend the night inside the temple. It was just one miracle after another, it was built of stone, it had wide hallways and large halls. He ate his dinner with other children who were dressed as monks and talked with them.

After dinner, He was brought to another large hall where under the lights of a fire, they asked him further questions about what he thought was right thing to do in different circumstances. Then they checked his strength by different tests and dares.

“You are strong and brave boy.” The old man praised him. “And your soul is bright and clear.” The man continued. “You wish for knowledge that your family can not give you and you dream of creatures and deeds that require more that many would give.”

He listened carefully because it was clear something important was going to happen. But nothing happened. He was given pillows and blankets to sleep and promised that someone will accompany him back to his family.

That same old man and two young monks joined him the next morning. They found his sister when they reached about half of his way. They reached his family in the evening. His parents were worried, but happy that he at least found a temple and slept well.

Then the old man spoke to his parents. His mother cried, his father was serious, but they both agreed. In the meantime, they traded cheese and milk for a bag of rice. It was fair trade. The monks have said they do not have much to spare. Then they explained where to find a small town.

They all slept in the tent that night. His mother was crying and begging him not to forget her, but he was not going that far, they could visit him in the temple, even the old monk confirmed it was perfectly fine if the boy wanted to spend a few days with his family from time to time.

The next morning they started before the dawn. The walked without the horse. They carried the goods they brought from his family. It was heavy and hard to carry over difficult terrain and without a horse. He was never without a horse.

“You might be given a horse one day, but a different one that you are used to, my boy.” The old man spoke while he stroked his beard and observed the boy. “Your father said you were born seven winters ago.” The old monk continued.

“I might be only seven winters old, but I was riding many different horses in my life, I’m sure I will be able to ride the horse you give me.” The boy replied and adjusted the weight of the milk he carried in a leather sack.

“Oh, I have no doubt at all, my boy.” The man replied with a glint in his eyes. One of the young monks that accompanied them told the old monk that the boy surely must have a name. The boy was ready to tell them his name.

“Call me Tenzin. You can continue to use the name your parents have given you whenever you are with them or if you decide to leave the temple.” The old monk cut in. “But while you are with us and as long as you will be in training, you will be known as Dorje.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And this is one of the monks that Marinette and Adrien met in the temple.


	3. Photography

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Watching photos in the library.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Of course that is to be done after a travel like that.

Photography

Nino was setting up the equipment in the library. Alya was going through the photos one last time while Alix, Mylenne, Rose and Juleka gathered around her to peek over her shoulders. Alya was glad that the photos were far more decent than her wild imagination sometimes upgraded on them.

Adrien and Marinette were too busy receiving congratulations from other students and teachers as well as the rest of the school staff. Even the janitor and the cooks came because they wanted to see and squeeze hands to the two kids who had beaten Hawk Moth.

“You two look like you are receiving congratulations on your wedding.” The librarian cooed. Well, that made the two teens blush. Because they shared the duty of the Guardian of the miracle box, but in order to do so the monks in the temple performed a ceremony of marriage.

They both smiled and shook hands and let the remark slide. They were fourteen and allowed to be embarrassed by such remark even if they were not secretly married, at least for an order of monks that guarded magical jewellery and other supernatural objects.

“We are ready.” Alya called and everyone sat down. It was their class as the rest of the students mostly left to go home. The few teachers that stayed slightly longer also had some obligations while Ms Bustier and the school principal had some business to do regarding the new teaching assistant.

The first photo instantly showed what Marinette dreaded the most. Yes, her father was taking photos, and yes, he shared those photos with Alya, and no, Marinette did not see those photos and had no chance to make a selection among them.

The photo showed Adrien with his arms wrapped around Marinette on the back seat of his car with Sabine sitting next to them. “This one is from the car when they were going to the airport.” Alya explained. Juleka quietly let in a few late guests, her older brother and a famous fencer.

Then there were few photos from the airport and from the airplane. And again, there was one where the two teens were sleeping, obviously taken by one of her parents. And then another photo, and then another, and then one that was clearly taken by Adrien’s bodyguard who sat beside them.

Of course there were whistles and comments.

“It was an overnight flight.” Marinette groaned and hid her face.

Adrien wrapped his arms around her on the spot they were sitting at and just smiled.

Rose and the girls cooed.

Alya and Nino flipped through the photos quickly. The view from the airplane, Beijing airport, metro … and then there was Beijing. Alya did her homework. It was good that some mapping web application also had the street view. She named each location and building there.

It was good that there were beautiful and renown sights in those photos because the students had something else to focus on and not only on the way their two classmates looked in those photos or where Adrien’s hands were.

Chloe was there, but uncharacteristically quiet. It was not only about Adrien and Marinette. Her childhood friend flew something other than business class. There were no photos from an airport lounge, no drinks from strangely shaped glasses on the flight.

Photos from the train were next.

“Those are proper beds.” Alix stated.

“No, they are not, they can be folded, see?” Kim countered.

“What is wrong with those beds?” Juleka muttered.

“About half of the world population sleeps on beds that are objectively less comfortable than those.” Max retorted.

“There were six of you in one compartment?” Sabrina inquired.

Marinette nodded.

“But you can hear the noise from the neighbours.” Adrien added.

Fortunately, there were many pictures taken through the train window. There were ‘aahs’ and ‘oohs’ and gasps of surprise at some scenery seen on the way. There were cities with high rise buildings, they passed over wide rivers, wast colourful fields as well as nature.

Then there was Lhasa. The streets, colourful people, and the temple. Then there was the bus ride, the treacherous road with a waterfall they passed through. There were gasps and wows and ‘you really took a ride on than thing’ comments, but the two kids just smiled.

And then there were photos of them in their sleeping bag with icicles on everything around. Alya probably thought it was wise to keep that photo and show that it was actually cold there. The photo was taken in the middle of the night or just before the dawn, and the icicles glowed in the light of the flash. It made the photo surreal.

Then there were photos of the walk and Marinette was braver to explain a few things they did as they walked barefoot through the stream and cooked noodles on a small portable gas cooker with her cousins.

They both had strange smiles on their faces when they saw the temple. Suddenly they remembered the monks from the temple and they missed them. Marinette wished they had spent longer time there and pursued the complete training, because she felt they both needed it.

Then Alya switched to the photos of the akuma battles, but did not dwell on them too much. Just a

few photos from her blog with her brief comments. Adrien felt students glanced his way from time to time. Yes, his father was Hawk Moth, and he was never going to get used to that.

“Can’t believe you two went against those guys on your own.” Chloe muttered. Many eyes turned towards her. “What? I was a superhero! I remember it quite vividly how hard it was to fight them with a super suit on and with your superpowers available!”

“What else were we supposed to do Chloe?” Adrien shrugged. Marinette held his hand, hard. She was really scared that this part might reveal their identities. Yes they fought Hawk Moth and Mayura without a miraculous, because they were taken from them.

Then there was another set of photos from the life in the temple. The room where they slept in a state of total mess. The room where they ate while full of students. The monks chanting (well nobody could hear them in the photo), the kitchen, a hallway, the bathroom area.

Alya had to show this, okay, it was stronger than her, she was running the Ladyblog. There was one video of a fight of Ladybug and Chat Noir with an akuma. It was dark and it was not possible to see much while all they could hear were comments of the Chinese students in the background.

And then she switched to another battle, the in in the temple, with sentimonsters all around, there were blurry and dark photos, the objects moved while the photos were taken, and the only one photo that was remotely clear showed the sarcophagus.

Adrien felt cold shivers go down his spine. At least now he knew where his mother was, or at least where her body was. The monks told him there was little hope there was anything left of her. They had their ways to deal with what was left of her and these did not include the sarcophagus.

“Babe, we spoke about this.” Nino chided. Alya flipped to the following photos. She was good at narrating the battle. Little did she know that the most significant portions of that battle were held in some other time, with no cameras available.

Then there were photos of the group going to a nearby village to purchase cheese. Adrien felt Plagg squirm in his shirt only at the mention of cheese. And then Alya showed the photos. Plagg either saw them and became hungry or just the mention of cheese was sufficient to make the tiny glutton restless.

Alya showed snapshots of the final battle. The cruelty of Hawk Moth and Mayura was obvious. The students gasped at the photos, although each of them saw the video of the final battle at least once. Adrien hang onto Marinette and did not want to let her go.

“It is okay, it is finished.” She whispered. And it was finished. Gabriel Agreste and Nathalie Sancoeur were defeated. Adrien had a new father figure, and it was Tom, he was free from his schedule and had a say in what he wanted to do.

On one hand, Adrien lost a family that he never had for real, he knew that. He was now on his own, more or less, but he had friends and their family members for support, and he had a life to look forward to.

It was good that the final battle was seen by the world. Once Hawk Moth’s identity was relieved to the world, Adrien was labelled for life. But it was Adrien who fought him, so the boy had a different label now, he was a hero who fought his own family to save the world.

“Alya, I thought this was about our school break.” Marinette warned.

“It’s okay.” Adrien cut in. But it was obvious that he was not okay.

“Since when did you know your old man was Hawk Moth?” Kim cut in. Someone groaned, someone else nudged him.

“When ...” Adrien stopped talking. He knew since that day in the cave when the two monks made him realize what secret his father was hiding. But the answer was actually easy. “When I saw the sarcophagus holding … “ He took a deep breath. “Holding my mother.”

There was a heavy silence hanging in the room. It ate away the very purpose of the gathering which was to look at a few photos and share some happy memories. Nino glared at his girlfriend and she looked at her feet. Yes she messed it up.

“She is not dead yet, but she is not alive either.” Adrien decided to break the silence. Nobody dared to ask and Marinette was not sure what to say. The words echoed through the boys mind and settled there as a fact. “I can’t say anything more about that.”

He did not want to admit that she used to be a miracoulous wielder, that it was her who wielded the peacock miraculous before Nathalie, that it was broken and that it made her ill and finally lead her to that stage where she was.

But she did not need to. Once the identity of Hawk Moth was revealed, all the video material was analysed in detail and the admission that Hawk Moth had made in the temple was discussed and dissected until many conclusions were drawn, most of them wrong, but who cared.

Alya flipped to a photo that showed them going back. She wanted to change the subject, to mend what she had broken, but nobody was paying the attention to the screen any more, everyone was looking at a boy who lost his mother and his father was a villain.

“I’m so sorry Adrien.” Rose piped in. The rest of the class joined in on a group hug. There were pats on the back, there were tears of compassion, and there were words of reassurance. He clung on his girlfriend, well they just agreed on that last night, and breathed.

Luka approached and pulled Adrien into a firm hug. ‘Thank you Adrien for everything.’ The boy whispered and then released Adrien and turned towards Marinette. She stopped feeling awkward and nervous the moment she saw the look in his eyes.

“I’m happy as long as the two of you are.” Luka muttered quietly and shook the girl’s hand. She already received thanks and handshakes from Kagami who uttered her won praise as well as a message from her mother to both heroes.

“The fact is.” Adrien continued in a tone that was so calm, it surprised many of his classmates. “I thought she died years ago, I got used to the thought and have moved on. I guess I was right in a way. She was gone.” The boy nodded.

Adrien turned towards the screen and smiled. It was a photo of him and Marinette in front of the temple door. He took her hand and talked about their return. Alya continued and the class at least pretended to pay attention. Marinette was relieved, there were not questions on magic.

The kids had to finish their photo watching and leave the library. They were leaving the school and stood on the school steps, surrounded by kids from their class who could not get enough of their classmates. A tall blonde woman and a neat blonde boy ascended the stairs quickly.

“There you are, Adrien, and I have been looking all over for you.” Melodic female voice greeted the boy. “I was thinking how in times like these the few of us who remained around ought to stick together and show each other love and support.”

“Aunt Amelie?” The boy asked cautiously. They were just speaking about his mother only moments ago. The picture in his head was so fresh that for the first moment he thought it was her on the steps that lead to the school.

“Hello Adrien.” The blonde boy next to her greeted. He was cautious and his eyes were wary. He saw most of the classmates in that video message that he erased. And he remembered rather vividly what he did after that. He was certain that he was not their favourite, but that was never his ambition.

“With both of your parents incapacitated, I was thinking of moving over to Paris. To take care of you and your father’s businesses. It’s not like Graham de Vanily did not own more than half of the shares even before the last unfortunate events.” She elaborated.

Adrien looked at Nino in panic. What was his aunt planning to do? He intended to move in with Nino. He intended to live a normal life. As normal as it could be if you are in charge of a box of jewellery that hid ancient deities.

“It is so impractical that we can’t move in the Agreste mansion.” She clapped her hands. Adrien was relieved, he was not going back there and he did not even want to discuss that. “Felix and me will settle in the hotel and I came here to ask you to join us.” Amelie finished with a beautiful smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oops :)   
> Amelie and Felix are already there


	4. She

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another character introduced  
> Time: about two centuries ago  
> Place: French colonies in south-east Asia

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just to give some background

She

They called her Miu. She never learned if that was her real name or it was just because she always played with their cat. They told her she learned to walk by holding onto their house cat. It was a big black cat. She loved that cat and the cat never used his claws on her.

Her father wore a uniform. He spoke a different language than her grandmother. And her mother spoke both. They had a house. Her father would let her mother reads some letters to him. Then he would walk up and down the room and dictate letters back while her mother was writing.

Other kids followed their mothers into the rice fields and played in the mud. But she sat on a floor and was trying to leave marks on it. Just like her mother was leaving marks on paper when she was writing. Grandma was not happy. So her mother produced a pen and a paper and taught her to write.

Grandma was always busy. She was in the kitchen, she was talking to other neighbours about important stuff and she never had the time for trivial things like reading and writing. But Miu’s mother said that reading and writing meant she would not have to go to the rice fields.

But all kids went to the rice fields and Miu sometimes felt lonely. Her father was cleaning his weapons and she was helping. So the man decided he might as well teach his daughter how to use those weapons. It was not like he had a son. Perhaps one day in the future, but not yet.

Then a letter came that the king of the country form where her father came was waging a new war and her father had to go. That is why her uncle moved in. They had to have a man in the house. It was a must. Her mother did not want her brother there, but grandma said it had to be so it had to be.

She did not like her uncle. They had books in her home that her parents used to read to her, but now her mother was writing for someone else outside of the house and her uncle did not read so she had to read them herself. Quickly, she had no problems reading really long books.

“You are old enough to go and work in the rice fields.” The uncle told her one day. The next morning she went to the rice fields. She had no idea what to do. The other kids made fun of her. She was not a god worker. She tried, but she was slow and her body was not used to the mud and work.

The next day she stayed at home and was reading some book when her grandma told her it was time to learn how to take care of a house. She did what she was told, but her curious self suddenly remembered something she read in a book and she wanted to try. Her grandma was not happy.

Then grandma said that uncle should get a wife to clean and wait on his hand and food because she was old and could not wait on his hand and foot any more while Miu was obviously not cut out for the job, she was going to have a desk job like her mother.

Some time after that, grandma and uncle had great news for her mother. But her mother was furious, she was crying and screaming and protested the idea. The mother took Miu to her office the next morning. It was actually a post office where Miu had to be really quiet and hide below her mother’s desk.

She got a pen and a piece of paper to write and was able to read a book down there, but she did not like it. She wanted to roam around and see the world that she was reading about in her books. Her mother tried to take a different route to and from work each day to make it more interesting.

“You uncle found a girl to marry, but in exchange, you would have to marry her father.” Her mother explained one day. Miu had no idea how bad was that, but her mother cared to explain all the horrors of the situation. The story was so gore that the girl did not notice where they were going.

They walked the whole day and late in the evening they reached one large building. “This is a temple. You will be able to study here and be safe and away from your uncle.” Her mother kissed her forehead. There were girls and boys in that temple, her age and older, they were all dressed the same.

Miu and her mother spent the night in the temple. Her mother told her that she would stay there until her father returned, told her to write and promised to write back. The next morning, her mother left and Miu changed her clothes, she was dressed the same way as other girls and boys.

Once a week she would send and receive a letter, it was safe because her mother worked in the post office. She was the only one in the temple whose parent knew how to read and write. So it was always a spectacle. One day her mother wrote her that the cat had died. Miu was sad.

Miu learned ancient texts, she learned how to write them nicely, not just the way her parents did, with clean and efficient letters, but really pretty, each letter was a painting, and she did all the exercises that looked much light fighting. She had friends. There were plenty of kids and they exercised and played together.

One day a letter came. It was much thicker that before. Her mother wrote that she had received a note. Her father had died. He was not coming back. She was not going back home from the temple. Her mother promised to write more because she intended to keep her job in the post office and not marry like uncle and grandma wanted.

Miu was sad about her father, but she did not want to go back home, she missed her mother, but grandma not so much and definitely not uncle. She had friends here and she learned many new things and if she came back home she would have to sit under her mother’s desk at work all day.

The young monks from the temple were going for some sort of pilgrimage. They got up early and walked. They walked and walked a muddy road. And then they walked some more. They slept somewhere, Miu was too tired to understand where it was and then they walked the whole day again.

Then they reached their destination, it was a large city with huge temples overlooking its streets. There was a procession. Everyone was solemn and quiet. Some kind of a ruler had died. They had to be quiet. They had to be sad. She was sad because a man had died. She remembered her father and cried after her father.

Then the celebrations started. Suddenly there was food, everywhere. And someone start to sing, someone else started to play an instrument and other people started to dance. It was wild and colourful and noisy. She ate and after many days of walking fell asleep by a wall.

Someone yelled fire. Someone else yelled soldiers. Another voice screamed about some dark forces. It was the middle of the night and she smelled smoke and saw nothing. It was hard to breathe and she coughed on her way. She roamed between other people who roamed around in the dark and in panic.

She had no idea where the rest of her group was. She had no idea where she was. She could sense something lurked in the darkness. She heard it breathe. She smelled the smoke. She felt the draft of wind it produced as it moved. She felt the threat it produced to everything and anyone around.

Then the being spat fire and she finally saw it. The being was a dragon. Just like they taught her. This one was black and red. It looked mighty and dangerous. It spat fire and several rooftops started to burn. But then it turned around and looked at her, and in its eyes, Miu saw fear.

Then she heard voices, they were in the language her father spoke, they were quiet and she would not be able to hear them if the two people talking were not seated on a wall just above her. She could not see them, but she concentrated to hear each word.

“What do I do with a mouse trap?” A voice that definitely belonged to a girl or young woman groaned.

“Maybe you need Mullo?” A voice that belonged to a boy replied, but she could recognize a glint of teasing in his voice.

“Chat.” She warned.

“You know, if I detransform, I might have a piece of Camembert stashed to use as a bait on that mousetrap.” The boy teased.

“And I know exactly who would get caught in there if we used that as a bait.” She retorted.

“Plagg can phase through objects.” Chat replied calmly.

“Yeah, no use for that I guess, he would just steal the cheese.” The girl replied again.

“Hey Bug, do you have any idea which object hides an amok or an akuma?” The boy asked next.

“I have no idea what this is, Bunnix just brought us here and I hoped for a clue from my lucky charm.” The girl protested. “Besides, it is dark and I don’t see a thing. Why didn’t I get a flask light?”

“Well, you’re lucky that I can see in the dark, then. Do dragons normally have something like a bracelet on a front limb?” The boy asked.

“Is there anything else on its body?” She asked in return.

“None that I can see, and as we have both noticed, the body is firm, it should not be an object hidden inside.” He replied.

“That is probably it then.” The girl answered.

Then the two jumped from the building and flew through the night sky. Miu did not understand how exactly they were moving but in the darkness it was not much different than flying through the air. Miu followed them with all her speed, she ran through the dark and empty streets and tried to follow.

When she caught up with them, they were already fighting the dragon. It was frightening, but Miu did not run away. She had no idea where to run, everything around her was the darkness save the fire that was right in front of her. But at least that was something she could see.

Then she ran to the side to evade the next spit of fire from the dragon. And that was the moment when the dragon saw her again. It followed her and grabbed her with its claws. Miu knew she was being crushed, but she did not feel the pain just yet, the adrenaline set out and did its business.

Then she noticed that there was indeed something like a bracelet on one of the claws that were holding her. She tried to grab it and take it off. If those two beings that were fighting the dragon had any clue, this was its weak point, this was what she should be doing to save herself.

Those two funny dressed persons, because now she could see them in the light of the fire, continued to attack the dragon. Finally, the one in the black got very close and grabbed her. There was a fight but she held onto that bracelet. She was too scared to fall.

A mouse trap attached to its tail and then the dragon opened its claws to grab onto the black clad human and Miu fell. It did not help that she was holding the bracelet, because now it was in her hands. But she was going to hit the ground and she was going to hit it hard.

But she never did. A string wrapped around her and a girl dressed in red with black spots with a mask on her face caught her. They both landed gently. Miu gave her the bracelet.

“Oh, you got it!” The girl in red exclaimed and stomped on it. A dark violet feather appeared. “An amok” She shouted. She caught it into some red circular instrument and released a white feather. “Bye bye little feather.” The older girl spoke gently.

A boy in black landed beside them. He was holding a really strangely dressed man.

“Bunnix will pick him up if he needs it.” The girl said.

“What about her?” The boy asked and motioned towards Miu. She could not see him well in his black suit although she saw the girl and the other man because of all the fire around them. But she saw how his green eyes almost glowed in the dark.

“Wait, let me take care of this first.” The girl said and threw that mouse trap thing in the air while she shouted “Miraculous Ladybug.” A swirl of ladybugs washed all around them and all the fires disappeared and the houses were restored. Miu admired the swirl and all the magic it did.

“Where and to whom do we need to return you?” The boy muttered to himself while he was looking at Miu. He was a teenager and that was a girl of about eight or nine, or perhaps even older if her growth was slowed down.

“I don’t know.” She had no idea.

“Wait, you speak French?” The boy was surprised.

“The order of the Guardians also has a crew here, they would know what to do with her.” The older girl wearing red with the black spots replied.

“Of course, I can take her and find them.” The boy replied.

“I’ll go with you after I recharge. By the way, I’m Ladybug.” The girl added as she introduced herself to the girl.

“And I’m Chat Noir.” The boy took the girl in his arms and carried her away.

They found a tent and entered.

The boy spoke with them in a language that Miu did not understand. She looked at Ladybug, the heroine explained that she barely understands the language too, but they were just talking about what just happened during the battle with the dragon.

“I told them what you did during the battle with that monster. I saw how you ran after us in the darkness.” The boy told Miu. “They want to take you with them to a temple in the mountains where you will learn the secrets of miraculous.”

“Are there going to be other children?” Miu asked. The letters from her mother became scarce, short and far less regular than before and she mentioned that her family was forcing her to feed them all and provide for each and every need because the uncle did not marry yet.

“Yes, there are other children, just like you.” Ladybug answered.

Miu nodded. She had no idea how she would return to her old friends, she had no idea where they were nor if they were still alive or if they wanted her back.

Then one of the monks spoke to Chat Noir and they had some discussion. Ladybug said they were not sure where to return her and it was too dangerous for a girl her age to be just left alone to fend for herself. They were trying to find a solution on what to do.

“My name is … “ Miu began to speak. If she gave her name, then they might help her find fellow monks from the same temple she arrived from.

“The name you used until now is not important.” Chat Noir replied with a huge grin. “Because they told me that from now on you shall be known by the name of Pema.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Back to the 'present' for the next chapter.


	5. A Dinner

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A dinner at Le Grand Paris, what could possibly go wrong?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The answer is everything, actually.

A Dinner

It was just after Amelie and Felix met Adrien and the rest of the class in front of the school. There were awkward glances towards Felix from the rest of the class. Adrien got invited to join his aunt and cousin, but his classmates did not approve.

Adrien was happy to see his family in Paris, he was really pleasantly surprised to have his aunt and cousin there, although she reminded him of his mother, but he wanted to say no to their offer, he needed an excuse. He held Marinette’s hand firmly. And Nino put a hand on his shoulder.

“We have just settled in Le Grand Paris.” Amelie continued her invitation to Adrien. The woman looked open and inviting, but Adrien knew her eyes were calculating. He never doubted her sincerity in inviting him and loving him, but there was always an idea of something else there.

Chloe perked up for a second at the mention of her father’s establishment where she also happened to live. She exchanged a glance with Felix. Then she frowned. The other boy was always dressed up for an occasion, but in a boring way, she still had to see something on him that would impress her.

“If Adrien wants to stay in Le Grand Paris, he can stay with me.” Chloe countered. But it was clear to her, after everything she heard and saw from his recent voyage, that her childhood friend preferred other kinds of accommodation.

“Actually, I was just going to Marinette’s” Adrien replied quietly and carefully observed his cousin who barely spoke since they arrived. He felt awkward, because he was genuinely happy to see his aunt and cousin, but there was that nagging feeling in his chest, or maybe Plagg just scratched him?

“Of course, you can go and pick up your things there.” Amelie smiled widely and carefully folded her hands. “But you just spent two weeks with your beautiful girlfriend and I thought you might like to meet with what’s left of your family.” No emotional blackmail there, right?

“I intended to stay with her for dinner and then I would go to Nino.” The boy continued in a quiet tone. He hid his fear well, but his friends could sense it. He did not know what was he afraid of, save the fact that he knew now that Felix was a sentimonster.

Adrien liked his aunt, he even liked Felix, in spite of the stunt he pulled the last time the boy came over for a visit. He was actually happy that he still had some family left. But if he stepped forward and went with her, sooner or later she would have taken him back to London, away from his lady.

Marinette sensed the same fear, the way she clutched onto his hand told him so. She observed Amelie and Felix carefully. The boy had green eyes and blonde hair, but his eyes were cold and his hair was combed slick along his head. His posture was stiff and his clothes only accented that further.

“Well.” Amelie clapped her hands again. “I do not want to interfere with your prior arrangements then.” The woman settled down. She had plans and she was not loosing patience easily, besides, she wanted to be on good terms with her nephew.

Marinette felt guilty for separating Adrien from his family. This was not a good start.

“Why don’t you join us for dinner?” Marinette stuttered out. Her parents would definitely approve of that, it was a good kind of start for them, to host a dinner and meet.

Felix almost gaped. That was not what he expected. Then he checked himself. That was exactly what he should have expected. That girl claimed to be in love with his cousin, she recorded her admission, and then he saw just how much she suffered in that fight against his Hawk Moth uncle.

“That is really kind of you. We have been to that cute little establishment your parents are running and they were still busy. I’m sure they haven’t even started on the dinner just yet. Why don’t you come over to the hotel for dinner? My treat.” Amelie smiled widely, she knew how to turn things around.

Marinette gaped. That was a fancy dinner at a fancy place, for sure expensive and beyond everyday expenses, something reserved for really special occasions, like a family reunion after some life turning events maybe?

“Actually, if you agree, why don’t we all meet up there and I can invite your parents and your bodyguard? What do you say?” She smiled. “And then you can go for a sleepover to your friend, I’m sure you two have plenty to talk about and we can rest because we had a really long day.”

Felix looked relieved, he had a long week not just a day. A phone call to the bakery and a few messages to the bodyguard and the dinner was settled. Tom and Sabine agreed and after they closed up the bakery and dressed up, they were off to a dinner at Le Grand Paris with Adrien in best Marinette designed clothes, because he would never wear Gabriel again, and a rather nervous girl.

They were given a table by a window and slightly on the side, the best choice possible, it gave them a view and possibility to talk without being overheard. Adrien felt grateful, he was certain that Chloe had her fingers in that. Marinette was impressed as well as her parents.

Felix chatted with his mother while they waited for their guests, but once Adrien got there, the boy kept his usual disinterested facade while he studied everyone around. Well, Adrien’s bodyguard was the usual quiet giant and the boy himself was the usual cheerful self.

Well, slightly more than usual cheerful him, it was somehow more, smiles were wider and more goofy and reached the boy’s eyes, it was like when they were kids and played together and made fun of the adults, a touch of mischief and a dose of concern.

Felix was never interested in persons like Marinette nor her parents. They were bakers, he never knew any bakers but he never had a wish to meet any. And then there was this girl who so easily admitted her love to his cousin over that video message.

Adrien insisted that Marinette should sit between him and Felix. Adrien beamed at them, Marinette looked at her hands and Felix flinched away for a moment before he schooled himself into a pretence of friendliness. He was going to have fun with that girl.

They talked about the trip to China, of course, and Felix was appalled by the accommodation and the travelling conditions that Adrien was obviously happy about. They talked about snoring on the train and how Adrien had cooked instant noodles.

Amelie complained about how she needed a driver and a bodyguard in Paris. Her own refused to move from London and preferred to find a new job. Fortunately, there was an experienced bodyguard and driver just looking for a new job at the table.

Amelie seemed far more open to listening to different experiences than Felix was. She observed the photographs with interest and she never failed to notice that Adrien was perfectly fine with everything, he never complained about the quality of food or his bedding.

“Your mother loved it when we went there for a photo shoot.” Amelie smiled gently. She was careful not to stir any negative emotions, but Emilie was her sister and she dared to talk about her even in front of her son. “We rather enjoyed our time there.”

Adrien beamed. He wanted to hear more about his mother, he wanted to talk about Emilie with someone who knew her, with someone who was not his father. He would really like that. And his aunt was an excellent source of information, and perhaps the only.

“She loved travelling when we were kids, she loved art and acting even more. That is probably the reason why she also took modelling.” Amelie sighed. It sounded as if the sister did not approve that particular choice or interest, or perhaps there was something else behind that.

Adrien could relate. He did not hate modelling. But he did not like it either. Well there was one occasion when he really really did not like modelling and that was that photo shoot with Lila, but it was for a good cause, so he crushed the feeling and smiled.

One surprisingly pleasant dinner later (if you ask Adrien), one really extravagant meal later (if you ask Tom and Sabine), one meal later (the bodyguard), was there food? (Marinette) and one awkward meal (Felix) Amelie concluded that they all had got along just wonderfully.

“Good evening everyone, may I join you?” Chloe actually asked the question, but she did not even wait for an answer before she sat down next to Felix.

“No, you may not.” Felix replied with a smirk. It was not a secret that he found Chloe irritating and obnoxious, and he never bothered to find anything in that girl that would make her worthy of his acquaintance, but then again, he seldom did it for anyone, perhaps never.

“Ridiculous, utterly ridiculous, this is my hotel, anyway … “ Chloe was about to say something.

“Your father’s hotel.” Felix corrected her flatly.

“My family hotel.” Chloe pouted.

“I would hardly call this a family hotel.” Felix teased.

“Well it is my family hotel, as stylish and extravagant as my family is, what did you expect?” Chloe retorted.

“If you think pretentious and over the top, as well as annoyingly posh, irritatingly luxurious and obnoxiously expensive while I do not find anything interesting or worth my time, attention and money, then you are right, it is just like you.” Felix retorted.

Chloe scoffed.

“Anyway, we are not staying here for long.” Amelie spoke calmly. “I intend to move in the Agreste mansion as soon as it is allowed by the authorities.” She smiled and folded her hands before her. “Of course, Adrien, you are welcome to live with us.”

“What do you mean welcome? That used to be his home … “ Marinette trailed off, she reacted on instinct, Adrien grabbed her hand to stop her, of course, she wasn’t thinking, he did not want to live there any more.

“Well that’s Adriekins home, not yours.” Chloe added helpfully while she glared at Felix. “Besides! Officially, both Adrien’s parents are alive, and … “

“I don’t want to live there, I do not want to step one foot inside the Agreste mansion, do whatever you want with it, take whatever you want, live there, sell it, make it a museum or a mausoleum, see if I care.” Adrien cut Chloe off.

There was a moment of awkward silence.

“I was hoping that you would still like to go back to your old room, Adrien.” Amelie spoke calmly.

“No” Adrien brushed her off. He did not want to go back in there. His father kept the body of his mother in a lair in that house, he was not going back, he couldn’t, that was just too much to ask from him, but he could not just say all that. Marinette understood, her parents knew so they understood that too.

“Anyway, Felix, since you moved in here, how do you plan to continue your education?” Sabine cashed as she tried to change the subject.

Felix was not sure if he should answer or not. It was his mother who made the plans anyway, it was not his wish to join the class that his cousin had attended, save he might play them for fools once in a while.

“Felix?” Marinette inquired, she sensed there was something going on with the boy beside her. “Are you joining our class?” Felix did not respond a t first, he shifted in his seat slightly and opted for a poker face as he was almost determined to hide that until he actually appeared there.

“You are, aren’t you?” Adrien smiled and then stiffened, of course he was happy to have his cousin in his class, but Felix obviously did not share the feeling and Adrien clearly remembered how Felix pulled that nasty prank on Adrien’s friends.

“Of course you are joining our class, that is the best class for you, since I am there, of course.” Chloe swung her pony tail and checked her nails.

Felix snorted. He was so disappointed in himself that he did that, he usually had much better control over his reactions.

“Of course there are several people that you might consider below our class.” She continued. “But I assure you they can be useful.” Adrien glared at her, she shrugged and looked back at Felix.

“Oh yes? I am sure I could find some interesting use for them.” Felix smirked, ‘like being a subject of one of my pranks’ he smirked.

“Felix is going to join Adrien’s class first thing in the morning.” Amelie replied to Sabine because her son refused to give back a straight answer.

“You are not going to pull again any such prank like you did the last time Felix!” Adrien warned through gritted teeth. “You are not going to hurt my friends just to have fun. And you are not going to pretend to be me and put me into trouble.”

“Why not cousin? You used to like pulling pranks like that over your own father?” Felix teased.

“That was different.” Adrien protested.

“Because he was Hawk Moth?” Felix hit the bulls eye.

Adrien clenched his fist. It should not hurt that much, he was used to the fact, it was just that Felix was doing this to hurt him, obviously.

“You know what, if you decide to join us, I have the perfect seat mate for you. Her name is Lila.” Chloe scoffed. Of course, Chloe was aware of the presence of a teaching assistant next to Lila. “You two would get along just perfectly.” She expected an epic fail in her scheme.

“Chloe, you can’t be serious. Lila is a manipulative liar.” Adrien retorted.

That caused Felix to suddenly raise his interest into the girl. He missed much of the commotion after the reveal of the fact that his uncle was Hawk Moth so he was not aware of the stunt Lila pulled just after the fight and his mother considered that irrelevant.

“She definitely sounds more interesting than any other friends of Adrien I’ve met so far.” Felix noted with a dose of sarcasm in his tone.

“She has a teaching assistant.” Marinette mouthed to Adrien while the other two teenagers kept bickering. For her, that meant that the two were not able to sit together anyway. Adrien took notice of the reminder and understood what she wanted to say.

Finally, Chloe decided she had enough and with her last comment she walked away and swayed her hips. Felix did not bother to look away from the scene the blonde heiress presented, although he still despised her personality.

It was time for Adrien to go to Nino’s. The two teens shared a ‘good night’ and separated. Marinette with her parents. Adrien walked with his bodyguard. She felt her heart beat in her chest with each step she took. Adrien felt the pain of separation was over him.

Marinette sighed. It had to be done. They had to be separated. They were not able to live their lives attached to each other. She was going back in her room and he was going to live with Nino. They will see each other in school. They can meet each other in the evening if they transform.

Adrien did not really bring all the stuff to move in with Nino. He brought the clothes he had for the travel, now washed and clean, and he brought his school books. That was sufficient for the first week or two until he settled what to do with his things from the mansion.

Chris insisted on tagging along all around the flat. The little boy was obsessed with his brother's friend, the boy who defeated Hawk Moth, his own father. To Chris, this was as if he met one of his favourite action figures brought to life, and now the boy was ganging out with his older brother and slept in the gust room.

Yes, Adrien settled for the guest room. Basically, if Nino’s parents wanted to take the boy into any kind of custody, they needed to ensure that the boy was going to have his own room. So they played by the rules.

The two boys talked until Adrien was too tired to continue due to the time difference and the time he was used to, he fell asleep and Nino listened to the music on his headphones for some time before he finally decided it was time for him to go to bed too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> um, yes, the things are supposed to go down hill?


	6. Schooling

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pema and Dorje in the temple as kids.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More about original characters.

Schooling

He became Dorje. They told him he was strong and he felt proud. So when it came to do the water duty, the boy volunteered. “But you are still young and small.” They said. “But I’m strong.” He replied proudly. He learned a lesson of keeping his mouth shut when he carried the water up the steps.

That is how Dorje managed to sit down during his lessons. Being taught required and awful amount of sitting. The boy was not used to that. His legs would move on their own and the boy would not let them because he was expected to sit still and listen.

Then they observed the signs. Each sign meant something and he was learning how to read them. There were so many, but he memorized them quickly. He was told he was smart and he was given a chalk and a board to practise writing. The boy was proud of himself.

It was good that teachings in the temple also involved practising their body movements. Dorje liked that a lot. He always strived to do it with all his strength, he needed the way to blow his steam to be able to sit for the rest of the day, but he was not aware of that.

“Each move should be measured and to the point.” The teacher instructed. Dorje was often corrected, his moves were too fast, gone too far, his hands and feet were often in the wrong place, and the boy did not like the physical exercise so much.

But then he had chores and other activities. Maintaining a temple was a lot of physical work and he loved it. He ventured out whenever an opportunity arose, weather it was to bring food or other supplies and he even carried water just to go out from the building.

Of course, that was on the condition that he always returned. The boy wanted to continue his studies and he began to enjoy the teachings more and more. As few winters passed, he was finally given more ambitious tasks in the physical exercises and he was better at that too.

Monks often gave him tasks when something on the temple had to be fixed. And that happened rather often. Sometimes there was a storm and they had to climb the walls and repair what was damaged. Sometimes there were just simple cracks to be filled.

Dorje loved the temple. It was much sturdier building than the tent he used to live in. Although the tent survived harsh weather and many storms due to its flexibility and provided warmth and shelter from the elements, the temple was something different.

The space inside looked vast to the boy, there were huge halls where they would eat, learn their lessons, chant, sing, cook, clean themselves. Then there were different chambers where they slept. It was large and domestic at the same time.

There were not many students in the temple. The monks were somehow vague about the destiny of each of their students that had left the temple. Some of them said they were going to return to their families after six years of schooling. Some of them left for other purposes.

Whenever he had some free time, Dorje liked to sneak around the temple. He loved it when he found some space previously unknown to him. There were niches hidden behind thick tapestries, there were passages that lead to nowhere and there were hidden chambers.

Dorje became rather good at sneaking around, mostly because he was punished when he was caught, so he hid well whenever he heard some steps passing and ran away back to the quarters where he was supposed to be.

That day he ventured up the stairs again. He seldom did it but that day there was literally no one of the older monks around. He already remembered which door led to a storage and which to a chamber. He did not want to accidentally go and hide in a chamber if someone walked around.

“I am not giving Dorje for a mere wielder.” A woman spoke. Dorje recognized the tone and the voice. That was Dolma, the old woman monk who was always rather harsh. “I wanted to raise him as a guardian.”

“He would be an excellent guardian.” The boy heard when Tenzin agreed. “But not of a mere box.” The man continued. There was a pregnant pause. Dorje wandered what boxes needed to be guarded. “I believe we got ourselves a new Guardian of the Temple.”

“Well, that is settled then.” Dolma replied flatly. The boy sneaked away. This was not the first time that he spied on the two old monks, but this was the first time that he overheard they intended to keep someone in the temple for longer than six years.

It took time to get used to a new name, new people and the life of constant travelling. They called her Pema and for a few months they have been doing nothing but moving around. Sometimes the monk that lead her did some strange business deals, but Pema did not know what was their purpose.

The fact that she spoke two languages while her companions did not speak one of them was only making it harder for her. She picked up a few words they used and she started to connect them to the signs they used. Everything was different, but she was determined to learn their language.

There was a letter received one day, that nobody knew how to read. Pema looked at it once and she recognized the language of her father. She read it out loud, but nobody who travelled with her understood a single word she uttered. She was desperate, she repeated and repeated, she followed the text with her index finger and read out the text word for word.

Then she tried to explain in the language of her mother, how the king of France was defeated and how the land they travelled was now contested by another king, and another queen. She had no idea where France was, save it was the country where her father was born.

One of her companions knew a few words of her mothers language and was explaining something to the rest of the group. Everyone nodded at her. They let her keep the letter. She read it over and over. Then one of her companions started to teach her the language they spoke.

With heach word, the woman would draw a mark in the soil they waled on and Pema would repeat that mark. She was slowly learning the signs, not just the expressions. And she was feeling usefull. If she learned one more language it would be easier for her to find a job like her mother.

Then they stumbled upon a group of soldiers that spoke the language of her mother. They demanded food and money. Those few monks did not understand their requests and the young boy slightly older than her who did was too scared to response.

Pema stood her ground and looked at the soldier determinedly. The soldiers ignored her at first because she was just a little girl. Then she told them they had no money nor food to spare and she explained that she was a daguther of a French soldier.

They somehow concluded that French army officers might be after them if they persisted with their robbery and moved on. Later she heard of betrayal and deserters and later she understood what those men were doing.

After that, the whole group decided it was really important to teach the girl so speak, read and write their signs. She had a lecture at every meal, otherwise they were just walking along muddy paths, through forrests, over mountains and finally over high plains.

It was starting to become cold and they got her new clothes that was keeping her warm. There were only four of them at the time because they left the rest of the group at a temple in some city. They continued to teach her as they walked.

She understood that she was going to a temple where they trained a special kind of monks. She was going to go to school. In that school they were teaching children like her how to read and write, how to fight and how to do many other different things.

Then they told her that they also trained and taught people how to deal with magical beings like that dragon she saw that night in the battle. She would learn how to make a dragon and how to become one. They told her many things that scared her.

But Pema was not scared of many things. Now that she was away from her mother and her father had died, she did not have too many things to be scared of. One of the monks was a woman the age of her mother and she spent the most time teaching while they were walking.

It was cold. Sometimes it was too cold to do anything. Sometimes it was too cold to sleep in the flimsy tent they had. The woman wrapped the girl close to keep her warm. Pema liked the woman, she reminded the girl of her mother.

“Don’t get too attached to her.” A man scolded. “You know you’ll have to leave her in the temple and go to your next assignment.” And Pema could feel that the woman was just holding her closer. “She has to stay for the complete training, you already told her too much.”

“I will stay in the temple for as long as they let me.” The woman told Pema. “But my job is to travel the world and your job will be to stay in the temple and learn. At least for a while.” That made Pema happy. She wanted to live in one place after all of that travelling.

The next morning Pema learned what was snow. Everything was white. It was hard to look because everything was so bright. Pema looked at the snow and how it glowed in the sunlight and thought about all those tales of riches and gold. She saw gold before. Snow was shining brighter.

They walked that day for much longer than usual. On other days they would stop an hour before sunset to put up a tent and cook some food. But that day they walked and walked, the sun had set, but the moon was high and lit up the way.

Then she had to climb some steps. It was late, it was dark and she was tired. But she made it all the way up. Then they lead her into a building. She was amazed at the scene but too tired to explore. She was given warm tea and a bowl of warm food.

Dorje was excited to hear that the masters had returned from their journey, they were through some experience that was kept a secret, and due to that, they brought with them a girl. She was smaller than him, and looked exhausted, because she travelled from such great distance.

He brought her food, he tried to listen to the story and he watched her eat. He barely resisted the urge to hold her and keep her safe and worm. He knew that something had happened to her and the masters decided to keep her and bring her to the temple.

She probably fell asleep before she finished her food. Someone carried her away and set her to sleep. The next morning, she woke up surrounded by other students and she was able to say her name, age, and when she arrived.

Pema was asked to demonstrate her knowledge, she was able to read and write and speak in several languages. Dorje was amazed. This girl had just arrived and she already had more skills in that department than many of his fellow students, him included.

Dorje and Pema made almost instant friends. He knew each and every corner in the temple and she wanted to explore all of them. She knew how to read and write in many languages and she was able to draw so they soon gave her to copy some books.

The two of them studied the books together and then ventured to explore the temple and its surroundings together. The temple teachers let her skip a few years of classes because she was already reading and writing. But there were plenty of areas where she needed more teaching.

She needed to practise her fighting skills far more than other students in her group. But Dorje was eager to help out even outside of the schedule of their regular exercises. That was how she slowly caught up and started to become better and better.

Then, there was history and while the monks chanted their verses, Pema had a system of her own.

Dorje preferred to listen to her stories about the history of the world and the countries and the kings from afar, but he always offered to talk to her about their local stories, weather they were actual history of mere legends and stories told late in the evening by the fire.

However, a day had arrived when most of their group was sent home. The only two left in training were Pema and Dorje. That day they were taken onto a walk and learned about magical creatures, heroes and villains, akuma and other monsters. And then Dorje learned they were real.

That was the first time Pema was allowed to talk about the battle she witnessed that night, about the dragon, the bracelet, the feather, and two heroes who spoke the language of her father, they were Ladybug and Chat Noir.

That evening they returned to the temple through the cold blizzard. The tea and food warmed them up a little and they were allowed to sleep on a carpet by the fire to keep warm during the cold night and recover from a long walk and lesson in the cold weather outside.

But they never slept, Dorje already knew that the temple was magic itself as well as that it had some kind of power over the magic of some magical beings that gave magical powers to otherwise human beings and that wielders of those powers were trained in the temple.

Pema saw those heroes, but she did not know who they were, and Dorje never met such kids in the temple, so they talked all night about who it was and where did they come from, about the villain who attacked the temple that Pema visited and from all the tales that Dorje ever heard.

Dorje was glad that he was kept in the temple to learn about the magic, to protect it and its inhabitants from all sorts of evil that could haunt it from the outside world. The same way as the old walls of the building were protecting the two from the harsh weather outside.

Pema already saw the temple as her home. She lost all contact with her family long ago, she had no other place to go to and no one to miss. Her mother probably married again if she was still alive and her village would not want her back. She wanted to stay there in the temple and make it her home for life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It will be a number of chapters when the story returns to them.


	7. A Visit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien transforms and goes to Marinette.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It turns out more than expected.

A Visit

It was some time after midnight when, it was dark and he was in a bed, Adrien woke up, his hands were searching, but she was not there. Then he remembered, he was at Nino’s. Of course she was not there. The boy was alone in the room, he vaguely remembered that Chris had came in ranting about Nino had to go in his bed if Chris had to be in his bed, so his best bro left.

“Plagg” Adrien whispered. He needed at least his kwami there, to be reassured, to know that he was not alone. The tiny black deity zoomed over much faster than the boy expected.

“Do you find your bed cold and empty?” Plagg teased.

It was not that, he felt the memories of his old room in the Agreste mansion and his mother and the temple and all the anxiety creep up to him in the middle of the night. Well, he had such reminders of the, but until that night, he also had Marinette to remind him that that was in the past.

Suddenly, the fact that it was not his vast room with high ceiling but a small room with his friends sleeping in another room did not make much difference. His anxiety was still there. Then he checked the time. It was the time difference, just the right time to wake up in China.

Adrien did not feel good being alone there, and somehow, Plagg was not enough of a company to really put his mind to ease. The sleeplessness made his mind go wild and memories crept up on him without warning. He needed company and distraction.

He could go to Nino.

Or he could transform.

“Plagg, claws out.” He called. Plagg did not even complain while he was sucked into the ring. His wielder was seriously anxious and he needed help, if transforming into Chat was able to help, then the tiny black cat was happy to oblige.

Marinette walked home with her head hanging low.

Yup, it was time to separate, it was time to live their own lives, Adrien did not want to be adopted by her parents, and she agreed to that, both of them had different ideas on what to do. But they were fourteen, they were _only_ fourteen. It was too early for that.

Sabine patted her shoulder sympathetically and her father held his arm over her shoulders while they walked.

“I know it must be hard dear.” Sabine cooed.

“He is a good boy but he needs to be with Nino now.” Tom smiled.

Sabine and Tom looked at each other. It was so clear that the two kids loved each other, but they were too young. They were too young for love and yet they were too young for many things they had to face, fighting villains was one of them (not that they knew they were also superheroes).

They knew that keeping Adrien under their roof would be a bad idea if the feelings of the teenagers were considered seriously. They would not mind if the boy had stayed for a few days or a week before he made up his mind. But he was certain that he wanted to go to Nino.

In the end, Sabine and Tom were holding hands on their daughters shoulder.

Marinette stumbled upstairs to her room. There was no homework, not really, the teachers somehow forgot about that. But she had not designed anything for, like, forever and that was exactly what she intended to do until she passed out.

And pass out she did.

It was dark. The city of Paris was lit up, but the streets were almost empty. Chat Noir vaulted over the familiar rooftops, but made sure to stay out of sight. Ladybug and Chat noir were not seen hopping around the city for weeks.

He smiled when he saw the familiar balcony in the distance. It was not very far, just a few minutes away. There were no lights on the rooftop terrace and no lights in the windows. He landed lightly on the tiles, he did not want to wake up anyone.

The black cat like hero sneaked up to the rooftop window. It never occurred to him that what he was doing might be slightly inappropriate. The bed below the window was empty. Suddenly his heart was in his throat. His night vision eyes scanned the room below.

And then he saw her. She was asleep on her desk. Of course she was. What else did he expect? He chuckled to himself. Of course she threw herself on her designs and fell asleep on them. She always complained about that when she arrived to the classroom exhausted in the morning.

But then he suddenly realized that was only half of the reason. She was Ladybug, and they had some late night akuma. What a perfect excuse. She was probably losing more sleep due to akuma attack than her designing.

He unlatched the rooftop window and sneaked into the room. The biggest photo on the wall above her bed was a picture of him. Now that he was at Nino’s, maybe he could put up a few pictures on the wall above his bed? A picture of Marinette definitely, and Ladybug, no, identities, ugh.

He slipped through the window and closed it. Then he descended from her loft bed and observed his sleeping beauty. Well, it was good that he decided to go for a visit, because it would be awful if he allowed for his princess to sleep on her desk like this.

He bent over and sneaked his arms below her knees and back. He was going to carry her back to bed. It was good that he was a superhero, because carrying her up on the loft bed without waking her up would have been much harder as a civilian.

Marinette was having a nightmare. She was fighting an akuma or some other monster, she did not remember it later. But one moment she was fighting in her sleep and the next moment she felt herself being lifted in the air.

Everything was dark. She opened her eyes and it was still dark. She blinked a few times and it was still dark. Someone was holding her but she felt like she recognized those arms. The next moment she was sure she knew who it was, and then he turned and she could see his green eyes in the dark.

“Hey Chat.” She whispered and smiled. It was good to see him after a nightmare. She had no clue how would she feel if she woke up from that nightmare alone. She was not used to waking up alone any more, and there were plenty of events that she relived as nightmares.

“Sorry to wake you princess.” Chat smirked and put her down on the bed. “Claws in.” He detransformed before he pulled his hands out from between her body and the bed. That was the easiest way to avoid hurting her with his claws. And Plagg did not complain.

“You’re good. Nightmare.” Marinette whispered quickly. Soon her arms were around the boy and her head was on his shoulder. It felt good. Whatever the nightmare was, she did not remember any more, and the feeling was gone too.

“Did you have a nightmare too?” She asked quietly. Because what else would be the reason for him to go to her? And he had even more reasons to have nightmares, it was him who was waking up in tears lately.

“Just missed you, I guess.” The boy whispered. Maybe he did have a nightmare, but he did not remember it either. “I just woke up and you were not there.” He gently rubbed her back. He did not feel that he needed any other reason to visit her and Plagg did not complain.

Plagg first floated away to fetch Tikki who was asleep in her usual nest hidden on a shelf above Marinette’s desk. Then both of them floated back up to their chosen. Tikki nuzzled their cheeks while Plagg preferred to hide in Marinette’s hair on Adrien’s arm and scratch both of them.

“Were you bothered by the argument between Chloe and Felix?” Marinette uttered.

“Yeah, bout you’re right, Lila should be harmless now.” He replied.

“I’m not ready to give her a second chance.” She admitted.

“And I don’t want Felix to impersonate me and hurt my friends.” Adrien added. “Anyway, what about that nightmare of yours?”

“It is not that bad, it was just a nightmare, I do not even remember what it was, just a feeling.” Marinette muttered to both kwami. The truth was she only wanted to enjoy listening to Adrien’s breathing, close her eyes and fall asleep.

“I do not even remember having a nightmare, just my bed felt so empty and the room was empty and I woke up only to be alone in a room in the middle of the night and I had to see her.” Adrien replied tiredly. “I’m sorry I used my miraculous for that.”

“That is all right Adrien.” Tikki chirped but there was sadness in her voice. Plagg just scratched gently if only to emphasise the words that the tiny red goddess just uttered. It took a few minutes but both teens were asleep when Tikki floated back in the air and approached two green glowing eyes tangled in Marinette’s hair.

They did not bother to set the clock for an earlier time than the last moment that allowed reaching the class in time (the usual wake up time for Marinette). And if Adrien wanted to return to his room at Nino’s without his absence noticed, it had to be done.

“Have you been seen?” Tikki demanded from Plagg.

Plagg phased through the black hair.

“Not here, Tikki.” He whispered.

Both kwami phased downstairs and straight to the fridge. There were several reasons for that. The first one was packed in a circular box and had a particular smell, the second one was that the fridge was rather sound proof, and the third one was a cake on the top shelf.

“Did you feel it too?” Plagg asked after he took a chunk of cheese and smelled it while he held it in his paws.

“Felt what?” Tikki demanded.

“The kwami calling us into the box.” Plagg replied causally.

“We are not going in there without consulting our guardians again.” Tikki chided.

“Okay okay, we’ll ask them when they wake up.” Plagg replied. “But it might be too late.”

“You mean a request for help with Nooroo and Duusu?” Tikki inquired.

“I knew it, you felt it too. Why didn’t you say anything.” Plagg demanded.

“They are too young for that sacrifice.” Tikki protested.

“You know that we can help them after a hefty meal.” Plagg snickered.

“No, not now, and even if we do, we will not be able to get out for a while.” Tikki was not in the mood.

“We can wake them up and ask them to go into the box, there are no akuma, I’m sure they’ll let us.” Plagg replied.

“No, we should tell them why we are going in there, and they should have a kwami outside just in case.” Tikki scolded.

“If you tell that girl and that boy why we need to go into the box they will not let us in and then they will try to do it themselves and they are too young for that.” Plagg smacked another piece of cheese just because he was so annoyed.

They continued to banter until the cake and the cheese were eaten.

Plagg was reluctant, but Tikki was determined to wake up their wielders, they floated back up and observed their sleeping chosen. Both of them looked at teach other and then back at the kids and sighed.

“Perhaps we could let them sleep for a little while, they will need their strength.” Tikki sighed.

At that moment someone tapped the rooftop window.

Tapping was first gentle and then slightly harder.

Adrien opened his eyes.

“Come in Chat.” Marinette muttered still half asleep and with her eyes closed.

Adrien chuckled and then looked up.

There was one more tap.

“It is not locked.” Marinette muttered again.

“I’m here and I locked it.” Adrien replied while he stared at the figure above him.

Marinette opened her eyes in a second and looked up.

Light blue and white suit of Bunnix was contrasted against the dark sky.

“oh no.” Marinette breathed out, got to her feet and unlocked the rooftop window.

“So, that is why you were blushing so hard during the lunch break that day?” Bunnix snickered. “Pardon me, it was yesterday for you.” She snickered again. “You would not believe what some people thought you did while you were only sleeping.”

“Get your mind out of the gutter … Bunnix.” Marinette replied tiredly. And she needed to force herself not to use the hero’s civilian name as a form of punishment. The appearance of Bunnix gave her that unsettled feeling and reminder of Chat Blanc, but after the stunt from the studio it was not as bad.

Adrien felt entertained. He did not mind that the minds of his classmates put their relationship farther than both of them were ready to go.

“So, what do we need to do for you this fine evening?” Adrien smirked the way Chat Noir always did. He had so much fun in that Tvi studio and he was ready to do something like that again, his mind wrapped around a few puns he just did not manage to utter the last time.

Bunnix was serious and searched their surroundings. Her night vision was not as good as Chat’s, but still better than an average human.

Marinette felt her gut implode. She looked around quickly and then back at Bunnix.

“Oh good, they are still out.” Bunnix smiled when she noticed where the two kwami were hiding. They did not know from which time Bunnix arrived and if she already knew the identities of Ladybug and Chat Noir.

“What do you mean out?” Marinette protested. She looked at the kwami and then back at Bunnix. Then her brain started to process the information and she turned back to the two kwami. “What were you two up to?” She demanded.

“Um, nothing?” Plagg replied and grinned, his white fangs visible in the darkness. Tikki nudged him. “Actually we were meaning to ask you, but you slept so peacefully, and we just wanted to go into the miracle box into our magical world and since there are not akuma … “

Plagg trailed off. Adrien rolled his eyes. Marinette sighed.

“So that is why you were gone when I tried to reach Ladybug and Chat Noir later in time.” Bunnix concluded. “Well, I have already released too much information about the future, let’s just forget about that.”

“Trust me, he will.” Tikki glared.

“What was that all about?” Adrien muttered, as he got used to his kwami antics.

“Not important. Come on, you have to transform and come with me. And … Take extra snacks, you might have to detransform a few times” She jumped into the room and landed close to the chaise lounge. “And bring me a few carrots while you’re at it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Reminder: Nooroo and Duusu are too exhausted from the fight in the temple and our fresh guardians should be taking care of them, but they had school and dinner and no time. Also, Marinette fell unconscious when she got them out from the jewels in the temple.
> 
> The next chapter is going to be about Amelie and Felix sort of back flash (but very little back).


	8. London

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Amelie and Felix watch the final battle in London.  
> Time: a week before  
> Place: read the title ;)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is also one of the chapters that had been a candidate for the first chapter ... (so were 2 and 4 and an extra short fic in this group)  
> So I've been to London on several one day trips. The first time I was there, I wanted to have tea at five, but actually did it about eleven in the morning, and there was that mother with her son, she was annoyed with Big Ben bells and he noted that they live and work and go to school within the circle from which the bells could be heard. And I wanted to ask why ... but never did.

London

Big Ben was announcing that yet another hour had passed, to the joy and amusement of tourists that just had to hear that and pride and annoyance of the fellow Londoners, who loved their landmark, but were mildly displeased by the noise (sometimes, but they would never admit that).

“I don’t understand why your cousin Adrien did not come over to spend his holidays here, with us, in London.” Amelie was sitting by the window and enjoyed her cup of tea. Her desk, her desk chair, the shelves and the floor were littered with papers related to the project she worked on that morning.

“Because uncle Gabriel did not let him?” Felix offered with an amused smile. “You know how he prefers to keep his model boy locked away from the world.” The boy sipped his tea with an amused smile. He was always jealous for Adrien’s easy demeanour, but not the way he was treated at home.

Amelie looked at her son, his hair combed carefully back, flat on his head, not a hair would go astray, his perfect face, a white shirt, a tie and a grey vest, the boy was all dressed up as if he was going to school, but he was home for the school break.

“On the other hand, you tend to chase the world away from you.” Amelie scolded gently, but all the edge of her words was brushed away by the motherly smile she gave her son. She knew Felix was jealous because Adrien easily connected with people.

Felix knew his mother studied his choice of clothing. He always dressed up, even when he intended to spend his day at home. His mother did the same, in her long dress she could have been in the theatre or even shopping the high street, but she chose to give her attention to her most recent project.

“Most of the people are stupid.” Felix muttered and pretended to drink his tea. He had such discussion with his mother before. He preferred to stay away from his peers, unless he had an idea on how to pull a prank on them. And his mother adored his pranks, he was her little magician, a boy who always knew how to draw the attention away from what he intended to do.

“You still have to work with them.” Amelie smiled. “Everything is much nicer if you don’t go through it alone.” She continued. She was worried because Felix had no friends, always stood on the sidelines and always used any opportunity to make a fool out of someone.

“You need someone even to pull out your tricks, my little magician. It would have been so wonderful if Adrien was here, then the two of you could go around, you would take him sightseeing London, to museums and whatever else you young boys are up to these days.” She smiled.

Felix smirked. It would have been nice if his twin like cousin was in London because Felix would have more resources to pull pranks on other people. He might have to put up with his boring cousin, but there was a reward in that. The other boy was famous, after all, and that could be exploited.

“I just can’t stand to think that the boy is there in that large mansion all alone while he could be here, with us.” Amelie sighed. She missed her sister, she missed her a lot, and the way Gabriel treated her family was scandalous. Who did he think he was?

She knew that Gabriel went on a business trip to China with that assistant of his, what was her name again, ah Nathalie. The woman was as stiff as Gabriel. Amelie smirked. She was an adult and her mind supplied what that could mean. They would suit each other just fine.

“Why don’t you imagine him then on some exotic holiday with one of his fangirls, then?” Felix cut in. Why was his mother talking about Adrien so often? And since his aunt Emilie disappeared or died, he never understood which, it was getting even worse.

Amelie laughed heartily. “Oh, I’d like to see Adrien travel around with nothing but a backpack and young people his age for his company. To sleep on a bus or a train or an airplane, or in a sleeping bag. To cook his own meals in some improvised kitchen.” She smiled at the memories.

Felix made a disgusted face, straightened up his vest and tie and sipped some more tea. His mother was always like that, she had those, probably heavily selective memories of the life with her sister and everything they used to do together, he was not in the mood for that.

“At least Adrien does not have to fear those akuma attacks, first they stopped in Paris and now they have them in China.” Amelie shook her head. But she had a knowing smile on her face. She observed Felix carefully. She liked to play with people like that, make them draw conclusions on their own.

“Where did uncle Gabriel go for his business trip? Wasn’t that in China too.” Felix inquired offhandedly and sipped some more tea. His eyes met the eyes of his mother and he knew that he touched a subject he was not supposed to, and yet she often taunted him.

“Indeed it was. Everything is made in China these days, apparently.” Amelie looked through the window again. She promised Felix to explain him everything when he was old enough. But she refused to define the number in age, it would pose such a dreadful deadline.

“Thank you for bringing me tea, Felix. I have so much work to do until lunch.” She motioned towards the papers that covered all possible surfaces. She sighed, she loved her job, especially since she was still able to switch between producing and acting whenever she wanted.

There was a knock on the door. It was not unusual that someone interrupted their morning tea with giving them a visit, Amelie even expected that. She kept a maid around the house to help with such distractions, especially when she needed to concentrate on her work.

“Milady, you should better watch the news.” A woman dressed in black, with white shirt collar and white apron announced and proceeded to switch on the TV even before her boss told her to do so. “The journalists are already gathering in the street.” She warned.

“The paparazzi will always be there.” Amelie sighed. But if there was something new in the news, she had to know. “What is it this time? The royal family again? Someone got married? Divorced? Had a baby out of wedlock? Wore a wrong kind of hat?” She teased.

“Oh it is not the royal family, milady, it is your family.” And the woman switched on the news. They were playing a video of a fight, two monks and three kids, fourth kid was apparently filming, and they were fighting Hawk Moth and Mayura. Amelie was interested.

It was strange how her mind had just supplied memories and doubts about the identities of the two villains, she never knew for sure, but she had her own ideas and reasons to think that way. She could not have faced Gabriel about that, she had too much to lose.

“This is in that new temple that appeared in China.” The maid said as she repeated the information that rolled over in the banner on the screen. She knew which piece of information she saw before she rushed into the room of her boss.

“You mean the old temple that reappeared few months ago?” Felix corrected. He despised such imprecisions in speech. The woman glared back at the boy, he grinned and then snickered. It was a game they played on a daily basis. He was bored.

“The boy has been identified as Adrien Agreste and it seems … “ The maid looked at Amelie. Both Amelie and Felix gasped. So the boy did escape to have his holidays somewhere outside his mansion and enjoy the world. But right now they were looking at a fight.

“Well, it seems that Hawk Moth … “ The woman continued to speak. Felix felt immense pain go through his body. He fell of the armchair he was sitting on, the remains of his tea spilled over the floor, the carpet and the papers his mother spread everywhere.

“Felix, are you all right?” Amelie asked worriedly. The maid quickly collected the cup and wiped the tea as much as she could. “Oh leave it, please, it is not important.” Amelie told the maid. “Let’s take care of Felix first.” And the two women raised Felix and placed him back in the armchair.

Falix found it was painful to breathe, but he was able to do it. The servant looked back onto the screen. “Isn’t that Gabriel Agreste?” She asked without thinking it through. Amelie finally averted her eyes away from her son. “Yes, that’s him.” She confirmed calmly.

Amelie held her hand on Felix’s forehead and stroke his cheek. Felix was mildly annoyed by the action because she was treating him as a small child and he was a teenager, but the pain he felt was far more disturbing so he let her continue to practise the soothing motions.

Then his vision went black.

Amelie checked for the heartbeat and the breathing. Some old monk on the TV just finished banging some metal instruments that produced an awful noise. Her son fell asleep or lost consciousness or worse. She was scared to think what it could be.

She failed to feel disturbed by her brother in law being publicly revealed as a villain that created monsters. But Amelie felt proud that it was her nephew who defeated the man, she stroke the forehead of her son and thought of the other boy.

She had memories she pushed aside, and now they were back again. Emilie did something, her sister kept doing something that normal people were not able to do, she knew that her sister harnessed magic and was sometimes tired from using it.

A doctor and an ambulance was called upon. It took them forever to arrive. But Felix looked as if he was only asleep. The armchair was one of those new things that could lower the headrest and raise the leg rest so Felix was lying down.

Amelie was really worried for her son. She watched over him and only occasionally glanced over to the TV. She preferred for the boy to stay at home, than to go to a hospital and she managed to get a few words out of him when the doctor was there.

“He is probably very tired.” A nurse told her and adjusted an IV. “He needs rest and a lot of fluids.” The woman administered some medication into the bottle to slowly flow into Felix and Amelie was left to take care of Felix on her won.

She promised to call a doctor whenever anything happened. Felix actually woke up, ate and then fell back asleep. The doctor was satisfied. Amelie promised to ensure a lot of rest for her son. It was just a temporary weakness, nothing more.

But Amelie observed the same battle on the TV screen again, a thought haunted her, a thought that told her there was more to it, that the event on the TV somehow had something to do with the condition of her son.

“It must be a shock to learn that someone close to you is a villain and someone else close to you had suffered such a terrible ordeal as that son of his.” The maid said. “You took it exceptionally well, but your son is just a boy.” She smiled.

Amelie thanked the woman and smiled. It was a sad and worried smile, but a smile nonetheless and the servant knew that her efforts were appreciated. “Thank you for staying with me for so late in the evening.”

“I could not bring myself to go home when you need me so dearly here.” The servant replied. Amelie finally let Felix sleep and collected the papers discarded all around the room. “I think this play is not going to be produced.” She concluded and discarded the papers.

The servant did go home, eventually.

Amelie kept walking back and forth through the room, the old memories haunted her, she knew there was more to it than she knew, more than she was told, more than she ever dared to ask. Her sister had a secret, Amelie knew that much, and it had something to do with her son.

Felix was getting better. He was feeling very tired, irritated and dull at the time, but he was gaining back his strength. Amelie followed the news on Gabriel religiously. He was in prison in China with his assistant who was Mayura.

“Any news from Adrien?” Felix asked at one moment. He remembered how his cousin fought his own father and won, finally the boy stood up against that dull and stiff man, who preferred control as a mean of parenting.

“He is going home from China as scheduled. His legal representative called me. He wants to stay in Paris and live there.” Amelie smiled. She did hope that the boy might want to move to London and live with her, but she understood his choice.

“Any fangirls with him?” Felix smirked. Yeah, he was jealous of his cousins popularity, of the fact that girls adored, that he had a fan club, but on the other hand, Felix disliked most of these people, he found them pathetic and boring.

“Actually, there is one, Marinette Dupain Cheng. He was travelling to China with her, her parents and his bodyguard.” Amelie laughed breathlessly. “And the person who streamed the video of the battle was her cousin.”

“Marinette … “ Felix repeated the name. “Dark, black and blue hair, blue eyes? A friend from his class?” Felix inquired. Memories of a video he saw not so long ago, a video he removed and then replied to, replayed in his head. Yeah, he did find her love admission utterly pathetic.

“Yes.” Amelie answered. “What about her?” Perhaps Adrien and Felix talked about that girl during their last visit to Paris? Her son must have known about that girl if Adrien was as close to her as to go on a two week journey as far as China and hide that from his father.

“I was right. He did go to a fancy vacation with one of his fangirls.” Felix snickered. “And he got to play a hero.” He was jealous of that, he certainly was, now his cousin was famous for something else than his good looks.

Felix knew they looked the same, or they were able to look the same if they only tried a little, so why was Adrien considered a modern day Adonis, adored by fans, the face of a fashion brand (put there by his father) while Felix had no issues to hide in plain sight.

“Yes, he got to play a hero. They both did.” Amelie repeated with some sadness in her voice. She felt sorry for her nephew and she was even more concerned about the destiny of her sister, because it had became known that Emilie was kept in a sarcophagus in the basement of the Agreste mansion.

On a Sunday evening they both watched the interview. Amelie laughed at their antics. Felix sulked, because his cousin was not only popular, but so loved by everyone, and now he was a hero. Even when Ladybug and Chat Noir arrived, the spotted hero was leaning into Adrien.

He knew they had feelings for each other, he just knew it! All those photos in his phone had to mean something, and he was certain she returned his feelings. Too bad she knew him so well that she saw through Felix’s prank.

And that Marinette girl did not move a finger, she did not even look jealous, and that Chat Noir hero was like all over her in front of cameras in the TV studio and nobody did a thing. She was the girlfriend of Adrien Agreste and a superhero flirted with her there in the studio?

Felix was so consumed in his own interpretation of the interview he just saw he barely noticed that the show was finished. He was still digesting everything he just saw and heard. His cousin did not keep such public appearance, he was more like a doll or a puppet.

“That’s it.” Amelie clapped her hands. “Are you up to going to school tomorrow?” She switched off the TV and turned around to her son. But there was a glint in her eyes and a slight crook in her smile that told her son she had different plans.

“I hate the idea of going back to school. It is so boring there..” He smiled back. The eyes of his mother were shining with mischief and the boy knew that he guessed right and played along just as he was expected.

“Well I guess it is time for you to change schools then.” Amelie smiled. “Get some sleep, we are packing and going to Paris tomorrow.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> About this Felix: In the Felix episode, he is portrayed as a cruel person who is able to steal from his uncle, his mother excuses his behaviour as childish and even encourages him. This Felix is like that Felix, but with a twist ...


	9. Twisted

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ladybug and Chat Noir go to some other time and find ... Ladybug and Chat Noir.  
> time: few months in the future.  
> place: Paris

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The story of another timeline begins.

9 Twisted

Marinette and Adrien stashed her clutch purse and his pockets with cookies and cheese in the kitchen while their kwami had a small talk with Bunnix upstairs, then they climbed back up and transformed into Ladybug and Chat Noir.

“It is different than the last time.” Bunnix warned Ladybug before she made a circle with her umbrella and opened a portal. Ladybug stared at the portal. She passed through one so many times in the last two weeks that she forgot to count.

But now she was back in Paris, Bunnix was the same rabbit miraculous wielder as that time that seemed so long ago. The time when the rabbit hero came for her to fix the future and he small mistake she just did that apparently caused Chat Blanc.

“How different?” Ladybug asked cautiously. Because the last time she had business with this Bunnix was perhaps not the last time this Bunnix had business with her. When one has the ability to travel in time, schedules and what was before and after become irrelevant.

Chat Noir was ready to jump through, but Ladybug held his hand firmly and made him stay for just a moment while they awaited an answer from Bunnix. She hoped that with their victory over Hawk Moth, they were safe to love each other and know their identities.

“You will have to go and see.” Bunnix smirked and led the way through the portal. “I can’t tell you much about this future, but you are here to fix it, or find a way to prevent it from happening, just like the last time.”

Ladybug hitched a breath. At least this time she had Chat Noir by her side, she had Adrien, the memories of Chat Blanc played in her head and everything was making so much sense, at least more sense than at the time she fought him.

Chat Noir, on the other hand stepped through the portal only slightly concerned, and even that only because he saw his lady so worried. There was nothing on the other side that would justify serious concern, at first, just there was more mess on the floor.

“At least there is no water all over the city.” Ladybug sighed when she looked through the window. It was early in the day, the sun was up, the sky was blue, and the birds in the park were probably singing except they she did not hear them.

“So I tried to pick you up several times.” Bunnix mentioned offhandedly. She tapped her foot nervously and looked to the side. The following words she used had to be chosen carefully.

“What happened? We were not there?” Chat Noir inquired teasingly. It was a logical question, really.

“Well, you two were both gone, once. Then I went earlier in time ...” Bunnix was speaking quickly, she rushed through the words that were difficult to say, they were her friends, after all.

“What do you mean gone? How gone? When was that?” Chat Noir insisted. He wanted like specific time and place when Bunnix searched, but the rabbit hero was not supposed to give away that much.

“Then I found you both with no miraculous and no kwami.” Bunnix continued. She took a deep breath and let the information sink in.

Ladybug gasped.

“Then I went earlier and found the two of you sleeping together, your miraculous jewels were still on you … “ Bunnix made a pause intentionally to watch the two heroes blush. “But your kwami were gone.”

Ladybug was too worried to be flustered for long. Chat Noir felt as if Bunnix just spoiled all the fun when she stopped teasing them and became serious again. But yeah, at some point they were gone and apparently their kwami disappeared first.

“So I went even earlier and found the two of you snuggled together and your kwami still present.” Bunnix finished the story. “I am not supposed to tell you about the future, but you are expected to fix this mess and it might be important.”

“Okay, but what is wrong and when are we?” Ladybug insisted. It was not an obvious fact that stared at her face, her room was sometimes that messy, especially when she spent her evening working on some design until she passed out.

“I thought I removed all futures like these when I made an intervention in the TV studio.” Bunnix smirked. That was a funny memory for all three of them. “It is possible that you revealed your identities again.”

“Oh, I remember the interview, it was cool.” Chat smirked. Bunnix pulled them fifteen minutes back so that Ladybug and Chat Noir appeared in the studio with Adrien and Marinette.

“Maybe you got caught in the morning?” Ladybug elbowed him.She knew what he was thinking, ever since two Ladybugs during Timebreaker.

“Okay, took the warning, I’ll wake up really early and go to Nino.” He retorted. Yeah, they still had to keep their identities a secret from the public although the three of them knew who they were.

“I forgot to set the alarm clock early, is this it?” Ladybug dragged her fingers down her face. “Last time I just had to erase my name, this time I have to set up the alarm clock.”

”Anyway, I can’t tell what exactly went wrong in this instance yet, there were plenty of moments when something went wrong to lead to this, but you have to fix it and I have to return to my burrow. See you sometime.” Bunnix waved and returned to her burrow.

They were in Marinette’s room, but everything was tossed and turned. Ladybug went to the trunk where she kept the miracle box and it was not there. She collapsed on the floor beside the trunk and sat on the floor. Chat sat beside her.

“So, I should tell you about one time when Bunnix took me to the future to fight Chat Blanc. You were akumatized, I don’t know exactly why, but you told me it was our love that destroyed the world and you knew my civilian name.” Ladybug looked at Chat, her eyes spoke volumes.

“Paris was flooded and in ruins. You were completely white with blue eyes. I had to fight you and the akuma was in your bell.” Ladybug spoke quickly to avoid tears picking up in her eyes. “But this is different, Paris is not destroyed and as far as we know Hawk Moth is not active any more.”

Chat was grateful for her choice of words.

“Um, and the cure was to remove my name from the gift I left for you in your room.” Ladybug connected her index fingers. “When I brought you that beret and said it was from your fan club in Brasil? But this is different.”

“So this is not because I came over for a sleepover?” Chat teased. But his insides sunk a little, what was he going to do if he was not able to vault to his lady in the middle of the night whenever he needed her?

“It still might be, I don’t know just yet.” She sighed. She felt guilty, because Adrien used his miraculous to get to her, because she felt lonely and wanted him there, because she thought the two of them were selfish.

Chat Noir jumped to the loft bed and was ready to open the skylight when Ladybug warned him not to. Bunnix insisted on making a portal inside for a reason. Ladybug went to the computer instead and switched it on.

The news titles looked exceptionally good. Ladybug saved the day, Ladybug was the best, Ladybug was helping out everyone. All the titles praised Ladybug. The Ladybug in front of the screen frowned. What was wrong with Chat Noir?

But then she clicked on the news. There were interviews upon interviews. There was Ladybug that loved attention and always made a show of telling stories about some battles with villains, but when Ladybug looked for a video of an actual battle, there was none.

“This is totally wrong, she is not you.” Chat Noir frowned at the screen when he looked at the was Ladybug on the screen behaved. “That is Falsebug.” He spat out the words after particularly annoying video they watched.

“He is not you either.” Ladybug pointed towards a Chat Noir in the background on the TV screen. Chat could not tell the difference at first glance and frowned. Ladybug froze the video because Chat Noir was visible only for a short while.

“He has no bell.” Chat shrugged. “But otherwise, he looks exactly like me, I mean, that’s me, just without a bell and charisma.” Ladybug rolled her eyes. “Perhaps that is me, just some twisted and broken version of me.” Ladybug felt shivers down her spine, she knew about twisted and broken him.

“She behaves entirely differently than me, although she looks so much like me … what if I got akumatized or something? Perhaps some villain took control over me or … what if I transformed with that dark option?” She thought out loud. ‘Twisted and broken’ rang in her head.

“Falsebug is not you, I am certain of that. I know I got fooled before, especially when the imposter was doing what … what I wanted you to do, like try to kiss me, I guess I wanted it so bad that I believed them were you.” He sighed.

“That’s fine Chat. I am certain that this guy is not you either, although he looks just like you, just without the bell. There’s no way you would be just standing there in the background and keep quiet, no stupid grins, no winks, no making faces, no nicknames and no puns.” Ladybug smirked.

They dug through the information and there were only videos upon videos that praised the Ladybug as the best. Chat Noir was not even mentioned and he was seldom featured in the background of the photos that accompanied the articles.

But there was no Ladyblog.

“According to this piece, Ladyblog was shut down for spreading false information about Ladybug.” Ladybug frowned. But then she did something she thought she should have remembered as soon as they got there, Ladybug opened her email, well it was Marinette’s email.

Of course there were emails from Alya. Most of them had attachments, Ladybug clicked on one labelled as the most important clue. The video showed the new Ladybug, but with red spots on black as she chased after Alya and threatened to punish her.

“Is this Ladybug akumatized?” Chat Noir asked while Ladybug felt cold shivers go down her spine. Even if it wasn’t her, if it was some other Ladybug, akumatized Ladybug was dreadful.

“There is no violet mask. I guess this would also happen to my suit if I called my transformation with ‘dark spots on’.” Ladybug thought out loud. For a moment she considered to detransform and ask Tikki or ever just transform and see.

“What colour would I be if I asked for ‘dark claws out?” Chat wiggled his eyebrows. One look at him was sufficient to know that the boy was ready to try it out, just of curiosity, and see what he got. “Or maybe it is claws without the bell out?”

“You don’t want to know.” Ladybug shook her head. Actually, she did not want to know and preferred to keep it that way. She turned back to the computer, there was another video where the new Chat Noir threatened to use his cataclysm on Alya.

“Trust me, it makes people disappear without a trace.” The new Chat Noir smirked wickedly. Chat took a step back on instinct, that wasn’t him, he was certain, although the boy in the video looked just like him. How twisted and broken was he?

The emails told a story how Adrien and Marinette disappeared and new heroes arose. But the new heroes had no villains to fight, so they invented whom to fight and what to destroy and the new Ladybug did not always bring everything and everyone back.

Alya was writing desperate emails in hope that both her friends simply ran away after some argument with Adrien’s family about inheritance and his obligations. She did not even demand an answer, she wanted them both to stay hidden and safe.

“Okay, where are they and how do we fight them?” Ladybug sighed. “It doesn’t matter if they are us or someone else, those are two imposters who took over the city.” Deep inside she hoped that the two of them did not lose their mind or tried to revive Emilie or something else.

“Well, Alya wrote that they have nobody to fight. If we just appear outside, they should come over and fight us?” Chat smirked. The boy had no existential doubts like his hero partner, he felt ready to fight, another day, another villain.

“Yeah, waste our only advantage, reveal our presence and act as targets, what else would you propose?” Ladybug muttered. She did not mean to be so blunt and criticise Chat, he was Adrien after all, but she was in such grim and self-deprecating mood that it reflected.

“You have a better idea?” He inquired. “How do you find someone if you don’t know whom you are looking for? This is like looking for Hawk Moth’s lair. We never found it until he literally brought us there!”

“But they appear in public on a daily basis, perhaps we just need to wait. This new Ladybug likes to be popular. Perhaps we should search into other clues. Let’s see about that family argument Alya mentioned.” Ladybug typed something in the search engine.

They got zero useful results.

But then announcement popped out. The new Ladybug and Chat Noir were having another of their spectacles and everyone was invited to join in and be entertained. A ship full of tourists on the Seine was sinking and Ladybug was busy saving people.

Well, she was actually busy holding two kids for the camera and bragging how she saved them while officer Raincomprix and a small fleet of vessels collected people form the ship and the river.

“How can anybody see her as a hero any more?” Ladybug frowned.

“Ladybug, we know where they are. Let’s go!” Chat Noir pulled her away from the computer screen.

It was literally few jumps away, they hid behind a chimney on a rooftop nearby and observed. A group of journalists surrounded new Ladybug with microphones and cameras while the new Chat Noir observed the scene on the Seine with contempt.

“You know, we could take them down, take their miraculous and call it a day?” Chat winked.

Ladybug called on her lucky charm and got a post card. It was a photo of Gustave Klimt painting, a very familiar Gustave Klimt painting.

“It looks like that painting of my mother in my father’s office.” Chat Noir slumped his shoulders down, he already knew where this one was leading. Internally, he groaned, he wanted to scream, he did not want to go there again.

“I guess we will have to go there.” Ladybug shrugged. Her eyes searched him, she knew he did not feel ready to go there, but she knew they had to sooner or later (which was rather ambiguous considering they were brought then by Bunnix).

“I swore never to go there again.” Chat Noir whisper shouted. It was at least too soon for him to go back there. Ladybug was ready to offer him to go there alone, but she saw the change in him, he did want to go, if nothing else, then so she wouldn’t go alone.

“Maybe that is what went wrong?” She smirked and launched her yoyo. “Maybe we have to go there, now and then, whenever we need to.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next few chapters will be about this timeline until they can return to 'the present'


	10. Broken

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ladybug and Chat Noir go to the Agreste mansion and the lair.
> 
> You might cry.  
> Time: few months in the future  
> Place: Paris

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So Adrien's first time back at the Agreste mansion

Broken

The two heroes hid in an alley for Ladybug to detransform and feed Tikki. Chat Noir observed the garbage dumpster carefully. The curious cat in him wanted to peek inside, just the smell was biting his nostrils.

“Can you tell me what you and Plagg were up to just before Bunnix came to collect us.” Marinette asked her kwami. She had experiences when their kwami were gone, one was Kwamibuster, another was Sandboy when they willingly went to the miracle box.

“Well, you are both guardians now and I have to tell you.” Tikki munched on her cookie. It was clear she wanted to postpone that conversation. “We wanted to enter the miracle box.” She admitted and bowed her head in shame.

“But if you go into your magical world like that, nobody can take you out. That is what sou did during Sandman and what Master Fu told me.” Marinette frowned. They had this conversation before, Plagg and Tikki promised not to do that again, or was the promise just for Fu.

“Yes, that is true.” Tikki sighed and continued to munch on the cookie. She obviously wanted to avoid the subject, the tiny godess was willing to take extra blame only to hide something.

“So why would you go there? Were you throwing a party with all the kwami for defeating Hawk Moth? Because we could throw a party for you kwami if you promise to behave.” Chat Noir spoke quickly. “Well not you, but some of you ..” He trailed off.

“I understand.” Tikki actually smiled and munched on a cookie some more. “But it was not about a party.” She knew she had to tell them before they returned. “The energy of Nooroo was completely distorted when he was used negatively.” The tiny red bug took another piece of the cookie.

“Okay, we learned about that in the temple.” Marinette nodded. They were rather seriously lectured about that, it was the energy of the temple, the magic that it held that prevented Hawk Moth and Mayura from using their full power inside.

“And Duusu inhabited a broken miraculous for almost two centuries, she even used energy from her wielders to be able to give her powers … “ Tikki continued and made a tired face. “And both of them were almost destroyed by keeping their wielders transformed in the temple.”

“Okay, yes, that is why we did that experiment in the temple when Marinette fainted.” Chat nodded. “And they both touched that stone that made them weak.” He wanted to hurry up the explanation. “That was why we were able to fight them while we were civilians.”

Tikki continued to eat in silence. There was not much more to tell, not much that she wanted to tell anyway.

“So you wanted to go into the miracle box to check up on their recovery?” Marinette inquired, she was not letting go of the subject. Because Bunnix had to go back further in time to pick them up for this fight.

“Um yes?” Tikki chirped. What if that was sufficient explanation. She did not want her chosen to take the pin and the brooch out and wear them to give the two kwami the energy to recover, especially since they were currently very low and it would take a long time.

“And you were just in the box when Bunnix came to pick us up earlier … I mean later?” Chat Noir concluded. If that was a conclusion. How was one able to answer a question like that? Did anyone know? Was anyone going to know? Chat wanted to slap himself out of it.

“Probably?” Tikki chirped sheepishly. It was close enough to truth, not that she knew what happened in the future, she was not Fluff. She finished her cookie and it was time for Marinette to transform again into Ladybug.

They sneaked around the rooftops in broad daylight and still kept low and tried not to be seen, people often cheered at them when they saw through window, but this time there was no reaction. The Agreste mansion stood before them and they sneaked around the rooftops and observed.

“It looks as empty as it was when I lived there.” Chat muttered.

Ladybug held his hand.

Chat smiled sadly.

“Are you able to go inside? Because if you’re not … “ She trailed off.

“I’m not letting you go in there alone.” Chat smirked.

They went straight for the office window.

Chat had to use cataclysm on the lock to be able to enter.

“My father’s office has surveillance cameras.” Chat warned.

“Well, there is another couple now that could be blamed for breaking and entering.” Ladybug smirked. There was one flaw in their plan and that was the possibility that the other two wielders lived in the mansion and actually saw the video from the office.

They both entered the office and approached the paining.

Ladybug passed over the paining with her fingers she felt more than she saw the small indents in the canvas, then she narrowed her eyes and observed carefully, there, just beyond her reach was another set of buttons to push.

“I can find the spots, but I can reach only these here, could you press the upper spots for me?” She asked. She held her hand on the lower set of spots and looked at the second set.

“Of course. But, which spots?” He asked while he watched the painting, he ignored the fact that that was the painting of his mother, he was searching for buttons.

Ladybug explained to Chat where to put his fingers and they both pressed.

Soon they disappeared in the hole in the floor.

Chat Noir’s ring was beeping and they found a corner they estimated was sufficiently safe for Chat Noir to detransform and feed Plagg.

“So Plagg, how was the party in the miracle box?” Adrien teased his kwami.

“Couldn’t tell, you made me go to this future before I had a chance to see.” Plagg retorted.

“Something tells me it was not a party at all.” Ladybug smirked.

“No, it was not a party.” Plagg admitted. “We wanted to see Nooroo and Duusu.”

“Why? Is there something wrong with them?” Adrien asked cautiously.

“You mean aside being used to do mean and selfish things, residing in a broken miraculous and being active in the guardian's temple?” Plagg was incredulous. “You’re good that the business class has such fine cheese, otherwise I would have been devastated for destroying the temple that one time.”

Adrien snickered at the mention of cheese.

“But you were fine and they were … well not fine but recovering and ...” Ladybug stuttered. “Ugh, I’m a guardian, I’m supposed to know all these things.” She groaned.

“We are guardians.” Adrien reminded her.

She actually blushed.

Plagg snickered and then admitted he was ready to transform.

Chat Noir found it rather easy to observe his surroundings and see where they are. Ladybug on the other hand did not see a thing. Chat took her hand and lead the way.

“This is the lair, I think we were here before.” He muttered, quiet not to be discovered as well as not to disturb any of the monsters that might reside there.

The only thing Ladybug was able to see was faint light in the distance.

“This is the lair, we were here, this is the place where we saw the sarcophagus.” He whispered while they slowly walked over a metal construction towards that faint source of light.

Since the faint source of light was the only thing Ladybug was able to see, she focused on that.

“You know, this place really looks spooky.” Chat smirked. “It is truly a lair of a villain.” Then he continued to ramble about different cartoon characters.

Ladybug could not see and know for sure, but Chat avoided to look forward, to the place where they were going, which was probably the place where sarcophagus used to be, a place where it probably still was, just empty.

Chat went silent and stopped. Ladybug switched on the light from her yoyo. Yes it was the sarcophagus, all right. Chat just stood there as if bewildered by the scene in front of him. He was frozen in time and relived the moments when Hawk Moth made them retrieve and teleport the sarcophagus to the temple.

Ladybug held his hand tighter. He did not respond. He just stared. She gave him some time to recover, to process the information, to relive the experience, to mourn to do whatever he needed to do.

But it was taking so much time, and they were there to fight the new evil Ladybug and Chat Noir.

“Look, it is just an empty container.” Ladybug finally muttered and walked over to the machine. Chat Noir followed.

“I know, but it used to hold my mother. It is so cold piece of machinery.” He muttered.

Ladybug pressed a few buttons that she expected to open the top non transparent cover. And the cover split in two and the two halves retreated to the sides.

There was a body of a beautiful blonde and tall woman in an elegant and expensive designer suit.

“Mum?” Chat whispered.

They heard some noise from the other end of the hallway. Ladybug switched off the light and pressed a few buttons and after a few attempts the top not transparent lid was back on. It was difficult to find the right buttons in the dark and Chat helped.

He lead her to hide behind some bushes that were somehow growing in that lair. They just ducked behind when they heard a different noise. Someone had just descended down with an elevator.

“Why is my mum back here?” Chat muttered. “Who brought her here? Is Hawk Moth back? What is going on?” Ladybug had to keep him quiet.

“That does not have to be your mum.” She managed to mutter before both of them had to keep completely quiet.

The lights were switched on. They were bright, especially to the two heroes who were trying to see anything in the darkness.

Then they both saw Adrien walk down the same metal construction to reach the sarcophagus. Him walking over metal produced some noise to disguise the other noise from the room.

“I thought we disappeared.” Chat muttered. “What happened to me, what have I done.” Ladybug squeezed Chat’s hand again to make him calm down.

“Maybe it is not you?” She muttered. She hoped beyond hope that this was not some crazy version of Adrien who terrorized Paris to get his mother back.

Adrien, or someone who looked very much like him, or more likely, like Adrien who lost all his joy in life and faith in people, someone who was ready to manipulate people to get what he wanted, Adrien who completely changed the way he acted, approached the sarcophagus and pressed the buttons.

“Hi mum.” Adrien greeted. Chat clenched his eyes shut. “I’m sorry to come down here dressed like this.” The boy continued to talk with the sarcophagus. “She wants me to dress like him, to look like him.” The boy was obviously not happy about that.

Ladybug was almost certain she knew exactly whom she was looking at. Chat held her hand with his eyes firmly shut, but his cat ears perked up. Those words gave him hope that it wasn’t him who was talking to the sarcophagus, and that wasn’t his mother.

“We did another scam today.” The boy sighed. “It is just not fun any more.” He whined a little. “But she insists in transforming into her and she wants me to transform into him and she wants us to play those acts for the public.”

Chat would have moved and held onto Ladybug, but he did not want to make noise so he just held her hand tighter. He forced himself to take long, slow, deep breaths and not produce any noise. She squeezed his hand reassuringly. They both needed it, if this was not Adrien, the girl was probably not Marinette.

“She makes me look like Adrien all the time, especially when in public, she wants me to take on the modelling and acting and Chinese.” The boy continued to complain. “I mean, you know I did not mind piano and fencing or any other sport.”

“The only thing I have taken on seriously so far is the Chinese, but you know why I’m doing that.” The boy whispered the last part. He placed the palms of his hands on the transparent surface and let the tears drop from his eyes on them.

“I promise, I will bring you back mum, but we are going back to London after that.” He sounded really serious. “And I can’t wait to do it. But I still don’t understand how am I going to do it. I know I need a sacrifice and I have a perfect person for that.”

“No don’t judge me, after everything she had done I will enjoy making her a sacrifice. I don’t know how she managed to fool everyone into thinking that she is Ladybug, she doesn’t look like her, she doesn’t behave like her, not that I care about that, but I’m not blind.”

“Actually, I’m lying, I know how she did that, she scared and threatened those few people who doubted her in the beginning, like that Alya, the Ladyblog writer, and now nobody dares to say anything against her.” He shook his head.

“I just wish she did not heave me in her hands.” He sighed. “But that will not last forever, I will decipher that book, I will understand how that magic works and then I will take the earrings from her and do it.” The expression on his face showed he was definitely up to the task.

“I just have to make sure that she is the sacrifice.” He added. Then he made a long pause, he just observed Amelie and started to sniff as tears rolled down his face. He allowed himself to break down there, where nobody was able to see or hear him, where he was allowed to be weak.

The period of prolonged silence was particularly hard as the two heroes had to keep quiet and control their breathing not to be heard in the large cavernous room. Besides, they both now held a sigh of relief that would be too loud.

“I know what happened mum.” The boy sniffed. “I know what you and aunt Emilie did.” He continued. “I read her diary.” He made a pause. He shook his head again and closed his eyes shut, a few moments and a few breaths later he opened them again and looked at his mother.

“I know now why you wanted the rings and why you did all those things to find the brooch, I just wish that you told me. I would have believed you. I promise. And … I would have understood, maybe not at once, but eventually.” He sniffed again.

Chat stiffened up at those words. Ladybug tightened her grip on his hand to keep him still and quiet. They were both updating their mental list of things to do once they return to their own time. The list was becoming longer rather quickly.

“And I am sorry about what I did to Adrien and that silly girlfriend of his. Well, they were both silly, they were made for each other, just like you said. I did not mean to be so harsh, I did not want it to be so definite.” He took a shaky breath.

“Yes, we needed the jewels, but we had them already, but she insisted, she had that power over me … “ The boy trailed off. He closed his eyes and his body was shaking from sobs he prevented himself to share.

“I wish Adrien was here, then she would not be making me to look like him. She thinks she is a designer now. She even threatened Chloe into wearing those horrible designs and Audrey to write a good piece about that.” The boy chuckled.

“At least I warned the others, Kagami is back to Japan, I made her leave.” His eyes glinted. “Alya was persistent, but I made her stop, fortunately she took the warning, I don’t know how far she would push me.”

“Can you imagine? I actually agreed with Chloe on something, the designs were ridiculous, utterly ridiculous.” He impersonated Chloe for the last part. “Anyway, I have to go back up, I have to go with her to entertain out picture in the media again.”

“I’m glad I have this chance to talk to you mum, it made me feel better.” The boy concluded, turned around and walked away. His footsteps on the metal railing echoed off the walls and the water below him made threatening sounds, but the two heroes started to relax.

Most of the lights were switched off, save the one above the sarcophagus and the plants and only the transparent cover of the sarcophagus was on so the body was visible again. Ladybug waited for a long time to make sure the two of them were really alone again.

“That was Felix.” Chat exhaled while he whispered his words. “And this is aunt Amelie.” It wasn’t him who went nuts. The situation was not pretty, but he felt much better, perhaps it was selfish, perhaps it was egocentric, but it put a huge weight off from his shoulders.

“He did something to us, or ‘they’ did.” Ladybug whispered. The two of them remained hidden in the greenery and observed what they could see. She wondered what they could have done, perhaps this Felix Chat used his cataclysm, perhaps it was something else, but Adrien and Marinette were no more there.

“So, Felix is the new Chat Noir.” Chat concluded. “And another girl is Ladybug.” He looked at his ring and thought of Plagg. Feilx was able to afford a lot of expensive cheese, but was he willing to do that for a grumpy glutton.

“I do have an idea on who it might be.” Ladybug rolled her eyes and then clenched her fists. The attitude, the slyness, the thirst for glory and fame, making Felix look like Adrien, everything pointed to one person. She knew she was right.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm predictable I guess ...


	11. Baking Bread

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ladybug and Chat Noir follow the clue given by another Lucky Charm.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did they miss anything?  
> As predictable as it is, there is still a battle to win and clues to follow.

Baking bread

Chat Noir and Ladybug were not sure if they should follow Felix, fight and retrieve the jewels or go somewhere else so Ladybug called her lucky charm.

“Bread?” Ladybug observed the loaf of bread in her hands, it was red with black spots.

“Hungry?” Chat raised an eyebrow.

“Maybe a little. I know my kwami will be.” Ladybug sighed. “I guess this means we missed something in the bakery then.” They walked to the bottom of the elevator and hid there on the side where they could see if someone was coming back.

Ladybug had to detransform and feed Tikki again. Chat detransformed and asked Plagg to check if the coast was clear for the two of them to go up into the office while Adrien, Marinette and Tikki talked.

“They are terrorizing Paris too, just like Hawk Moth, but they make it look as if they are saving them” Marinette whispered. “I just don’t understand what does she want, she has the earrings and if she has so much power over him she can have the ring too.”

“She wants to be you.” Adrien smirked. “That’s what she always wanted, that is why she wanted your friends and … me.” He blushed. “And to be Ladybug, of course, that’s just a bonus.”

“I guess we agree on who she is.” Marinette sighed. “It is not like her to act like Hawk Moth and Mayura, to stay hidden and assume control over your puppets, no, she likes to be in the spotlight, to be adored and admired, she really wants to be Ladybug.”

“The coast is not yet clear.” Plagg reported just as Tikki finished her cookie. “And they might be going through the surveillance videos on that computer, although they were going through the video of today’s performance.

Adrien and Marinette transformed back into Ladybug and Chat Noir.

“Okay, let’s find another way out then.” Ladybug led the way because the light left above the plants allowed to see where she was going. She looked around at the dark walls, but she was not able to see anything that could be used as an exit.

“There is a curtain, on that side.” Chat Noir pulled Ladybug in the opposite end of the huge room. Ladybug thought at first that he just did not want to be near the sarcophagus as the device and its content reminded him too much of his mother’s fate.

“There” he pointed his claw into the darkness. Ladybug opened her yoyo and produced some light again. Indeed, there was a curtain, and when she carefully moved to the side, there was a circular window.

They climbed up easily, but they were unable to open it. Chat got back down and found a piece of machinery that probably operated the window. He pressed a button and a small circular opening appeared.

Ladybug quickly got out through the narrow opening. But then it started to close. She launched her yoyo to fetch Chat and pull him through, but the circular window closed around the thread of her yoyo with Chat on the other side, all wrapped up in the said chord.

Ladybug sighed, she yanked the chord. Chat frowned. But then he heard the noise of the elevator again. He launched a cataclysm and destroyed only the small portion of the window, sufficient for him to just barely pull through.

“They might notice the destroyed window.” Ladybug hissed and retracted her yoyo. “I cant launch the miraculous cure, everyone would notice the swirl of ladybugs.”

“It is behind a curtain. Besides, someone is coming again.” Chat replied quickly. “I heard the elevator.”

“We cant move now without producing some noise.” Ladybug whispered.

“Then we just might as well stay and listen.” Chat shrugged.

They heard determined steps over that metal construction, but could not hear who it was because of the dark curtain. They were lucky it was already dark outside so the person inside was not able to see their silhouettes through the curtain.

“I thought I’d find him here.” They heard a feminine voice that sounded rather surprised. “He’s always here when I can’t find him.” She sounded frustrated. “Whining to his mum about how life isn’t fair.” She chuckled.

Ladybug launched her yoyo to a chimney across the street. She dared to make so much noise while the person inside was talking. Chat carefully detached from the window and was hanging on Ladybug so that his belt and his shoes did not make any noise against the window.

They heard the steps over the metal construction again. Chat’t ring was about to beep its first warning at any moment. That sound could be heard through the window and a miraculous holder would recognize it instantly.

“He has everything a boy could want in the world and he still isn’t happy.” The voice spoke. “Did he leave a window open again?” She protested. They heard steps and other noise from inside ans the vice kept trashing the boy she talked about.

Ladybug let go of the window quietly while Chat held onto her. Both heroes did not produce more noise than a pigeon who flew away from a window would.

“And those darn pigeons.” The voice continued. Chat could hear her with his enhanced hearing.

“I guess the commands got broken. Why doesn’t that surprise me. Whom does one call to fix a contraption in a villain’s lair.” The voice mocked and Chat could hear that the person walked away.

“Was it her voice?” Ladybug whispered.

“Could be, I’m not sure.” Chat Noir replied. His ring was beeping frantically. Chat detransformed into Adrien while him and Ladybug were sitting against a chimney.

“Sorry, kid, I held the noise for as long as I could, but I was not able to hold the transformation any longer.” Plagg whispered.

“Thank you Plagg.” The boy replied quietly and tossed a piece of cheese to his kwami.

“Plagg, are Nooroo and Duusu in trouble?” Ladybug asked.

“I really can’t say. Did you find the miracle box?” The tiny black cat replied nonchalantly as he bit on the stinky cheese.

“No, we did not find it, and no, I did not mean this timeline, I meant the time we left.” Ladybug narrowed her eyes.

“Let’s just say that their condition is deteriorating.” Plagg muttered.

“How do you know?” Adrien raised an eyebrow.

Ladybug pretended that was exactly the question she wanted to ask.

“Tikki and me feel drawn to the miracle box when a kwami inside the box is distressed.” The god of destruction said it in a tone that meant ‘as you should have known already’ but did not say it.

“We are the guardians, we were supposed to know that.” Ladybug muttered.

“Did you feel unpleasant at some moment during the dinner?” Plagg inquired.

“You mean when Felix and Chloe had an argument?” Adrien replied.

“No, it wasn’t that. A different kind of unpleasant.” Plagg rolled his eyes and continued to munch on his cheese.

“I felt like I wanted to leave at the moment Chloe scolded that waitress. But not because of the argument, it was as if I was needed somewhere else.” Ladybug spoke slowly as if she was remembering something that happened a long time ago.

“I felt like I wanted to run away and go back to your room.” Adrien admitted. “But I thought it was just panic because I was going to be separated form you and was going to spend the night at Nino’s”

“Good, that means you felt it too, but did not have a clue what you were feeling. Just great.” Plagg muttered and stuffed the last piece of cheese in his mouth.

Ladybug and Adrien looked at each other, it was true just weeks ago that they were both unaware of many of their feelings, this only added to the pile. But if they got through that, they were going to go through this as well, whatever this was.

Adrien transformed into Chat Noir.

“So, the bakery?” Chat smirked.

“The bakery.” Ladybug replied.

Chat was feeling slightly hungry ever since Ladybug got that loaf of bread for her lucky charm. He was looking forward to going into the bakery. He expected it full of pastries and cookies, he was already able to feel the smell and imagine the taste in his mouth.

They both landed on her balcony. There were no fairy lights, no chair and no spool table, the rooftop terrace was empty.

Chat had to break the lock with his claws and both of them entered again. They searched through the room.

“I never owned this.” Ladybug frowned at the contents of one box.”And my parents never owned that either.” She added just to stress the fact. The room was a mess just like they left it, Marinette could clearly identify few pieces of furniture that used to belong to her, but it was obvious that it was used as a storage room now.

Ladybug tried to open the hatch door, but it was locked from below. Chat had to use his claw again to unlatch it without destroying the hatch door.

They descended into the main living area. It was dark, nobody was home, which was just as well. The rooms were lit from the street lights outside, so the two heroes did not switch on any light.

The kitchen was there, the dirty dishes left on the table and in the sink.

Ladybug frowned. The more she looked around the more she was able to see the evidence of untidiness. Were her parents so sad about her disappearance or whatever happened to her that they stopped to care about their living space?

But she did not go there for that, she did not do the time travel only to feel sorry for herself and her poor fate in this timeline, she was there to fix whatever went wrong.

She looked around at each object, but none of them was telling her anything. She noticed many new pots, dishes, cutlery, glasses. There were many wine bottles stored in one of the cupboards and even some fine spirits.

Chat Noir observed the flat with amused smile. Everything was slightly different than he remembered, but it still felt like home, like a space that someone lived in.

He could even feel the smell of the bakery. It was a different bakery smell that he was used to with Tom and Sabine, but he was not sure how much time had passed or maybe the smell was able to vary from one day to another.

“I can’t find anything. I need to switch on the light.” Ladybug spoke and switched on the light.

Everything was different. The kitchen cabinets were repainted. The table and the stools were of slightly different shape and colour, the pictures on the walls were different. Perhaps her parents replaced the photos of her with these nondescript pictures?

But still, none of the items was ringing any bells, they walked towards the living room. The colour scheme was different, the TV set was different, the shelves on the wall were filled with different things.

“All the throw pillows I decorated are gone.” Ladybug breathed out. “And other things … “ She looked at the walls again. “Pictures, photos … “ She continued as she wondered just what that beautiful artistic photo of two kids was doing on the walls of her parents living room.

Chat observed that photo and then other photos that lined the wall and the bookshelf. There were plenty of photos of a happy couple, from early teenage years, their high school graduation, photos from university, photos from travels, and a wedding photo …

“This home … this is not my home any more.” Ladybug whispered.

“This is a home.” Chat sighed. “But your family doesn’t live here any more.” Chat replied quietly.

“I don’t see anything that would be important for us, important for me.” Ladybug whispered.

“Ladybug, Chat Noir!” A surprised voice came from the door.

Two slightly panicked superheroes turned around and looked at the same young couple that occupied most of the photos they just saw.

“Please don’t hurt us.” The woman begged.

“We didn’t read those news, those bad news, I mean, those news that spoke badly about you.”The man waved his hands defensively.

“You are our heroes, you saved us from Hawk Moth and Mayura and all their monsters and we are grateful for that.” The woman motioned her hands as if to emphasize the greatness of the heroes.

“And you are entitled to make mistakes … “ The man spoke but the woman elbowed him. “Not that you made any mistakes, no you never make mistakes, you are perfect.”

“Please don’t hurt us.” The woman begged again.

“We are just simple bakers, we got this bakery and started our own business. We know you don’t like the bakers that used to live here.” The man rambled quickly. “But we are not like them, we have no children … yet and we really really trust you.”

Woman nodded so exaggeratedly that it was obvious that the two of them did not trust Ladybug and Chat Noir at all, at least that new superhero duo.

“You can take anything you like … I mean need, it is all for the good of Paris.” The man continued.

“Please don’t hurt us.” The woman repeated in tiny voice.

“It is okay, we won’t hurt you.” Chat Noir replied gently.

“What?” The woman squealed.

“You talk?” The man raised his eyebrows.

“Yeah, why wouldn’t I talk.” Chat leaned onto a wall and took his tail in his hand and started to rotate it a bit. “I’m very talkative you know, My Lady over here used to think I was too talkative, you know.”

“Oh, he sounds just like he used to sound before … “ The woman spoke and smiled to the man by her side. But the man nudged her with his elbow.

“So you stopped talking when in public to please Ladybug?” The woman ignored the hint from her man.

“Actually, … “ Ladybug spoke and the couple before them friezed in fear. They observed the hero and awaited her to release her wrath upon them. “We just want some information.” She continued and raised her hands in a placating manner.

“We have no information.” The man shook his head.

“Of course, we will give you any information that we’ve got.” The woman spoke simultaneously.

They looked at each other.

“No information.” She said in a tiny voice.

“Anything you need.” He muttered.

They nudged each other.

Then they looked at the floor sheepishly.

“The people who used to live here?” Chat Noir spoke calmly because he felt that Ladybug was starting to tremble.

“We don’t know them.” Both of them replied in unison and shook their heads.

“We don’t associate with such people. Please believe us.” The woman spoke.

“We were just … having a walk after a long day at the bakery and now we are just going to clean up a bit and go to bed. We have to rise early, you know, bakers.” The man grinned nervously.

Ladybug and Chat Noir wanted to reassure that couple that they were not to be scared of the heroes, but given the fact that the new Ladybug and Chat Noir were obviously a power couple to be scared of, they decided not to.

“Okay, we’ll be going then.” Chat motioned for Ladybug to go. But when she just stood there and stared at the couple, he gently took her hand and pulled her along.

“You can take anything, anything you need.” The woman squealed.

“You will just go? Just like that?” The man smiled nervously again, but this time there was genuine relief on his face.

“Yes, we are going and I don’t think that anything happened here, anything worth mentioning, to anybody.” Chat winked and pulled Ladybug out through the entrance of her former home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ummmm so, was the clue wrong?  
> and how many errors did they do already?


	12. That Other Baker

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ladybug and Chat Noir realize where to go next, have a fight with the new and evil Ladybug and Chat Noir and pick up what they missed the first time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And if you thing everything is in the summary, you're wrong ;)

The other bread

They got out from the building and crossed the street to go into the park. They continued to walk in silence until they found a bench hidden in the dark between the trees.

They passed a new statue of Ladybug and Chat Noir. This one was bigger and more monumental, it showed new Ladybug and Chat Noir.

“They are scared of us. Everyone is scared of us. What have they done.” Ladybug asked while she stared in the empty space in the darkness before her.

“We have to stop them.” Chat smiled. “We will stop them.”

“I don’t understand, I got bread for my lucky charm. But we found nothing here.” She protested.

“Perhaps the clue was in something they told us.” He pondered.

“But they told us nothing, no information, save that they are scared of us.” She had to be careful not to scream.

“Scared of them, they are scared of them, not us.” Chat corrected. “What about the loaf of bread? It sort of made me hungry. Maybe w should go to some other bakery? Do you know any other bakery in Paris?” He was having an idea.

“Apparently there is one where we just left and I’m sure they would give you some food if you ask.” She felt sick to her stomach.

“No, the clue, do you know any other baker?” He nudged her. He was certain he was right, of course he was, he just wanted her brain back on track from that whirlwind of self demeaning thoughts that she just got herself into.

“Grandpa, grandpa Roland is a baker too.” She smiled.

“Let’s go there.” He grinned. Because that was the smile he wanted to see, out from the gutter and straight to the stars.

The two of them flew and ran over the streets and rooftops. The streets were empty and it was still early in the evening for that. Usually, at that hour, if there was no rain, the streets were not full, but considerably occupied with pedestrians on an evening stroll.

Thy landed in the front yard of a small house.

“This is it.” Chat whispered. He remembered that Marinette’s grandpa was a baker, he had to taste the bread they were making. Very familiar smell of fresh bread teased his nostrils. He knew they were in the right place.

Ladybug took a deep breath and knocked on the door.

Roland opened the door. His eyes widened suddenly when he noticed who was at the door.

“They are not here!” Roland brushed the guests away and motioned to slam the door, but Chat stopped the door with his hand.

“Please, we just want to talk with them.” Chat grinned.

“Can we enter?” Ladybug asked.

“Let them in.” They heard Sabine from somewhere inside the house. It was dark, the lights inside the house were off, so anyone or anything could be hiding in the darkness. Both heroes instantly recognized the voice and smiled with relief.

The man stood to the side to let them pass with a grunt and a glare to the dark shadow in his house. The two heroes entered the house slowly and closed the door behind them. Roland Dupain looked at the guests in his house with narrowed eyes and anger all over his face and posture.

“Thank you, gr … I mean, Monsieur Dupain.” Ladybug smiled widely at the sight of her grandfather. She remembered him in good mood, but she also remembered him angry and dissatisfied as when he held a grudge against her father.

“Thank you for letting us in. Can we speak with Tom and Sabine please.” Chat asked politely. He was getting used to calling them Tom and Sabine although he sometimes wanted to say papa to Tom, probably because the man addressed him as son.

“You made them leave their home and their bakery. How dare you come into my home and demand to see them?” Roland roared. His voice and posture full of rightful rage, as if he was ready to die before he would give them anything they wanted.

“They did not demand, they asked nicely, Roland.” Sabine spoke softly but she remained standing in the darkness. Both heroes looked her way hopeful to see the woman they wanted, they needed to know she was all right, and perhaps learn what happened from her.

“They asked … these new guys, they never ask!” They heard Tom from the same dark corridor from which Sabine was speaking. There was surprise and hope in his voice, as if he just got a first piece of good news after a really long time.

“It’s them Tom.” Sabine spoke warmly. “The real Ladybug and Chat Noir.” They could hear the excitement, happiness and hope in her voice. Ladybug wanted to run over and hug the woman, it was obvious how much she suffered and hoped for them to return.

“Oh.” The man stepped out from the darkness to pass by a window that let some light from the street inside. Then he flicked on the switch. That was what prevented the heroes from hugging her parents.

Everyone covered their eyes to adjust to the light.

They slowly removed their hands from their faces.

Ladybug and Chat Noir stood there and smiled.

“It is them, they are genuine, they are the Ladybug and Chat Noir who were fighting akuma and monsters, not those new imposters.” Sabine spoke softly and quietly as if she was scared to be overheard..

“Where have you been?” Tom crossed his arms. “Have you beaten those two imposters?” He demanded. Sabine nudged him with her elbow.

“I’m telling you I don’t like this modern magic stuff.” Roland muttered and walked away into the kitchen.

“It doesn’t matter, they are here now and they are going to fix everything. Come on, join us for dinner.” Sabine invited the heroes.

Soon, they were seated and enjoyed a warm home cooked meal with a lot of fresh bread.

Chat could not believe how hungry he was. Sabine enjoyed putting more and more food on his plate. Ladybug slowly got her appetite back and they both ate well.

Tom collected the dishes and Sabine brought out cookies and offered coffee and tea.

“Can you tell us what happened?” Chat asked.

“Please start … from the time after Hawk Moth got defeated in China and you got back home.” Ladybug asked quietly.

“After we returned from China, the school started and we went back to business. Mayor of Paris confiscated all of Hawk Moth’s belongings to compensate for the damages. But it was worthless, the company went bankrupt after the main share holder pulled out.” Tom started.

“Poor Adrien did not want anything to do with it. Even if the business and the mansion should have belonged to him, he just let them have it. The boy barely had any means left. At least his aunt promised to support the boy financially.” Sabine sighed.

“But she wanted something, something that Adrien and Marinette did not want her to have, I remember they were very nervous before they went to that dinner. Then they lost something, or they were robbed, we never knew.” Tom clenched his fists.

“They were both really sad for a while. It was understandable, it had to come sooner or later considering that Gabriel was … “ Sabine hitched a breath. “And then there was the trial, it dragged on for months.”

“Adrien had a disagreement with his cousin, it was not even about money, it was about their girlfriends or something. We did not want to interfere in the teenage stuff. I guess we should have tried, when one looks back.” Tom pondered.

“Anyway, the mansion was sold to the Italian embassy and then strange things began to happen. New Ladybug and Chat Noir appeared. They claimed that Adrien and Marinette wanted to be the next Hawk Moth and Mayura and the kids were found unconscious in an alley.

They have been in a coma in a hospital ever since. The doctors said it was probably electricity, but they never saw such injuries before. They made us close the bakery and move out from our home. But we could not leave Paris, not while our children are still alive at the hospital.”

Ladybug and Chat Noir were crying. They wanted to detransform and tell them that they were okay. It probably would not have even mattered if they revealed their identities because Ladybug already knew that they were probably expected to erase this timeline.

“I remember those days. Something strange happened with that box Marinette brought here for safe keeping. I even found two strange dead mice near the box one day.” Roland shrugged. “I know they were not my mice, my mice would come to the kitchen and ask for food.”

“What box?” Ladybug asked.

“What mice?” Chat Noir asked.

“Let me show you.” Roland got onto his feet. “Marinette and Adrien brought a plain cardboard box one day and asked if they could keep it here.” He walked away and opened the ladder that lead onto his attic. “It is up there, Marinette wrote an address in China on the box. Maybe she received it from there?”

“Maybe we were supposed to send it there?” Sabine noted. “It was probably something for her cousins.”

Ladybug ascended the ladder quickly and Chat Noir was just behind. They found a cardboard box ready to be sent to China with an address on the top.

“We were not supposed to learn anything about our future?” Chat whispered.

“Shut up, this is not the future, we have to make sure of that.” She replied.

They found the miracle box. Four miraculous were missing, the ladybug earrings, the Chat Noir ring, the peacock brooch and the butterfly pin.

They closed the box and descended the ladder.

“Um, so, about the mice … “ Chat Noir scratched the back of the neck.

“One was blue, another was violet, and they were both dead. I found them in the attic and I buried them in the back yard where I bury all my mice.” Roland explained.

Ladybug was tempted to ask to dig them out and see for herself if they were indeed Nooroo and Duusu, but she gave up. It was dark outside and she had seen and heard enough to know that those were indeed the two kwami.

They spent more of the evening talking.

When they left and climbed the first rooftop from where they could see the fire in the distance. They quickly came closer. The new Ladybug was wearing her dark suit with red spots while Chat Noir was still black but his tail had an arrow in the end and the ears on his head were more pointed, he had fangs.

People escaped the scene in evening suits and ball gowns. The Mayor of Paris and Chloe were begging them to stop the carnage.

But the black bug demanded respect and admiration.

The two heroes stood on the rooftop and observed for a moment.

“Shouldn’t we take the miraculous from them? They are abusing their powers to do evil things.” Chat proposed.

Ladybug called her lucky charm and got a chewing gum. It was shaped as a clock. She looked at the chewing gum thoughtfully.

“We have to take their miraculous but I have to ask Bunnix something later.” Ladybug replied.

“What” Chat replied.

“When was the moment she wanted to pick us up first.” She sighed.

“She said we were gone.” He reminded her.

“Oh yes, it must have been one of the earlier moments then.” She snapped her fingers.

“Then we were … “ He was trying to remember.

“Stop that, Chat, I’m on a timer.” She reminded him.

It was actually surprisingly easy to defeat the black bug and the mean cat. Element of surprise combined with the fact that the evil duo never engaged in a real battle against their equals. They only abused their powers to harass civilians.

Ladybug wrapped her yoyo around the black bug and Chat pulled the earrings off to reveal Lila Rossi. The heroes were not even surprised. After that they went after the mean cat who was not even running away, he was trying to get the earrings too.

Chat Noir activated his cataclysm but the mean cat did it too while he threw two pieces of his stick on Chat, he destroyed one piece with his cataclysm. The mean cat then pinned Chat to the ground and was ready to use his cataclysm on Chat Noir.

“Stop it, you can have my earrings if you let him live.” Ladybug walked over. Mean cat grinned.

“No.” Chat Noir screamed. It was obvious that the mean cat intended to use his cataclysm on Ladybug.

But Ladybug replaced herself with a parking pole when the mean Chat tried to reach her and the pole disintegrated. Chat Noir grabbed the mean Chat from his back and Ladybug pulled the ring off to reveal Felix.

“This was stupid anyway.” Felix spat out and turned around to walk away. “We never should have done this, any of this. It was completely unnecessary.”

“You loved to make them miserable, you liked it when they all hated Adrien.” Lila snarled.

“I was just jealous of him, of his popularity, just like you were jealous of her, you wanted to become her, bout you are not like her al all.” Felix spat back.

“Oh, is that why you hesitated to destroy her?” Lila teased mockingly.

“You just wanted him, not me! You wanted to stand in her place and you wanted to make him love you. But nobody could ever love a monster you became.” Felix shot back.

“You tried to trick her and be with her by pretending to be Adrien.” Lila was clearly jealous.

“And you are making me be him!” Felix screamed.

Ladybug was tempted to linger but Chat Noir picked her up and vaulted on a rooftop nearby.

She tossed the chewing gum in the air and called for miracle cure before her transformation dissolved and she returned to be Marinette.

She huffed and searched her purse for a macaron.

“Here.” Chat offered. “Tom made me take some extra ‘for the way’.”

Tikki took the macaron gratefully.

“So how do we undo all this?” Chat asked.

“The gum was the clue.” Marinette replied. “We have to make Felix feel welcome in the class.”

“That is going to be a tough task after that stunt he pulled with the video. Felix loves pulling pranks, but he never liked when someone pulled pranks on him.” Chat sighed. His ring reminded him that he needed to recharge his kwami.

Chat detransformed and found the last triangle of Camembert to feed Plagg.

“We can’t make him an outcast.” Marinette sighed. They both looked at each other, they were heading up to some serious high school drama if they wanted to avoid this future from happening.

“I thought I would have two Plagg’s now that I have two rings.” Adrien took the other ring from his pocket.

“Really, and I have just one Tikki.” Marinette smiled. “We have to leave those jewels back in the box before we return.”

“And the peacock brooch and the butterfly pin?” Adrien asked.

“Oh, I think I have an idea where they are.” She smiled.

Plagg and Tikki finished their meals and the two heroes returned to the Agreste mansion that was now an Italian embassy, or a consulate, or something.

They sneaked back directly inside the lair through the same circular window and then they walked over to the sarcophagus.

“Are you up to it?” Chat asked.

“I guess I have to be.” Ladybug sighed.

They pressed several buttons until the transparent cover retracted. Ladybug searched the elegant suit and the scarf and she found them, the pin and the brooch were just there, hidden by the silk scarf.

They closed up the sarcophagus and walked away.

“It doesn’t matter, we have to erase this timeline.” Chat muttered.

Ladybug returned a sad smile.

They landed on the roof of the small house of Roland Dupain, opened the small attic window and sneaked inside. Ladybug opened the box, Chat Noir extracted the miraculous from his pockets and Ladybug stored it back in the box.

“What about the mice?” Chat teased.

“I’m not digging my grandpa’s back yard.” Ladybug shook her head.

At that moment the miraculous box glowed lightly.

Motionless Nooroo and Duusu floated in through the small rooftop window and phased into the box.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> They have to deal with the possibility of multiple miracle boxes (should disappear after the lucky charm, right?)


	13. The Burrow Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bunnix watches what happened in that time line from her burrow.  
> Then she picks up the heroes and leaves them to watch a time line of what would have happened if they did not go to China.  
> Then Bunnix returns Ladybug and Chat Noir to the time when she picked them up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In this story Ladybug and Chat Noir actively researched what happened so they effectively know a version of the future, as opposed to Ladybug who never asked anything about her future after she defeated Chat Blanc (and Bunnix was there to interrupt).

Burrow time

Bunnix was in her burrow and watched a screen that showed the flat above the bakery. Adrien and Marinette woke up and were not able to find their kwami, they opened the miracle box, then Marinette took the brooch and Adrien took the pin to check on Nooroo and Duusu, but the two kwami did not appear. Then they got late to school and Nino did not know where Adrien was.

Bunnix looked into the classroom. Lila was sitting next to Felix in the first row, while Lila’s teaching assistant was seated just behind them next to Marinette. Nino and Alya were in the last row. Adrien was in the last row next to Nathaniel.

“You see how nice I am, I let you keep your old seat.” Lila was practically singing.

“I thought you were supposed to sit with your teaching assistant.” Marinette protested.

“But she is right there, and this enables me to be more independent in doing my tasks.” Lila replied.

Bunnix switched to the next scene.

“My sister had this nice brooch, in the shape of a peacock, I think I should have it now.” Amelie smiled at Felix.

“Isn’t that the peacock miraculous, mother?” Felix inquired.

“You are such a smart boy.” Amelie smiled gently. “So I think you already know who might have the peacock brooch and the pin.” She suggested.

“You mean those two who took them?” He replied rather flatly. “I am aware they said they returned them to Ladybug and Chat Noir … “ Felix folded his hands.

“But they might have been allowed to hold on to them as a reward as a some sort of souvenirs?” She smiled knowingly.

“It is either that or the two of them are Ladybug and Chat Noir themselves.” He replied.

“But in the interview we saw … “ She noted, but her knowing smile never left her.

“It could have been an illusion or some other kind of magic.” He realized.

“You mentioned they were late for school because they were looking for some pets, what kind of pets would they have in a bakery? And how did Adrien leave Nino’s home without being seen? You said Nino got to school and said that Adrien already left.” She reminded him.

Felix confirmed that.

“You see, when Emilie was wearing that brooch, she also hid a certain creature, she called it Duusu, and I heard her and Gabriel talk about Duusu and Nooroo and I suspect that Adrien and Marinette were looking for them.” She explained.

“So what do we do mother?” Felix smirked.

“We have to find the pin and the brooch, but you are right, perhaps we mighht be looking for earrings and a ring.” She looked through the window. “If I’m right and they have it, then we can learn what happened with Emilie and if there is any way to help her.”

Felix got quiet and his mother walked away.

“You still consider us children, mother, but you’re wrong. So it is easy, I will use my magic hands and get any jewels that they have on their bodies and then we will know. And I will get a date for the evening” Felix whispered and typed a message to Lila.

The next scene showed Marinette and Adrien asleep on a sofa. Felix expertly removed the pin from Adrien and then went for the brooch, but Lila then ripped off the earrings with a grin.

“What happened to them?” Bunnix muttered.

Bunnix switched onto the next scene.

“Here are the brooch and the pin as well as the ring and the earrings, mum, but no magical beings appeared.” Felix smiled.

“Oh my little magician.” Amelie took the pin and the brooch. “I’m sure these two are real. I saw them before.” She smiled. “I will just wear them until those creatures appear.” She attached both jewels on her clothes.

“And the earrings?” Amelie inquired.

“She has them.” Felix replied flatly.

Bunnix moved on to the next scene.

Adrien and Marinette had an argument about how they lost the miraculous and where were the kwami, then she took the miracle box to her grandfather because her room was not safe any more. Plagg and Tikki floated out from the box some time later and got to Felix and Lila.

Adrien and Marinette tried to get the earrings and the ring from Felix and Lila as they ambushed them in the park, but the two transformed and hit back with full force.

The next scene showed Adrien and Marinette were in a hospital, attached to machines.

Bunnix cried and switched to the next scene.

Someone who looked much like Ladybug was giving a press conference.

“I am sorry to report that Adrien and Marinette both lied. They held on to the butterfly and peacock miraculous with an intention to continue terrorizing Paris. Chat Noir and me had to put a stop to that. Unfortunately, the evil magic turned against them.” Ladybug smiled slyly.

Then the screen showed Tom and Sabine in their living room.

“I guess now we know what happened to our kids. We know this is not true, darling, we will keep where they are a secret.” Tom whispered to crying Sabine. “Even not Alya, because of the Ladyblog.”

Bunnix moved onto the next scene.

Amelie was getting weaker and weaker but she never took off the brooch and the pin. She collapsed and Felix took her body to the sarcophagus.

Bunnix looked away from the screen, ‘come on’ she muttered.

Ladybug and Chat Noir kneeled in front of the miracle box in the attic of Roland Dupain and orange glowing circular portal formed in the attic.

“You did it.” Bunnix said while she motioned for the heroes to pass the portal. This time they were in her burrow.

“At which times have you been looking for us?” Ladybug asked.

“It was hard to define, there were so many moments when something went wrong. And I don’t want to share your future with you.” Bunnix replied while she covered their heads with two bowls.

“We heard a lot about this future already.” Ladybug retorted. “We have an idea how to fix some of it, but we would prefer to know when to expect that.”

“Can’t you just tell us the times?” Chat inquired. “We might have little time … “ He trailed off because it always sounded stupid to ask such questions. How did Alix get used to the role?

“Well, it was in the morning, just a few hours after I picked you up, a week later, and a month later.” Bunnix was still vague. “But keep in mind that any of this can change once you change the initial conditions.”

“That is fine.” Ladybug smiled. “We have to make Felix feel welcome in class and in Paris and we know when we have to be careful.”

“Then we have to see about Nooroo and Duusu.” Ladybug continued. “I might need the original Book of Lore to know how to fix that.”

“What if we asked the monks in the temple?” Chat inquired. Ladybug shrugged. They looked at each other. They were both concerned that it would prove their incompetence as guardians and they might have to renounce their memories.

“And I’d like to know if there is a way to lock the miracle box and prevent our kwami to get inside while we sleep.” Ladybug sighed.

Chat snickered.

“And we should keep Felix away from Lila.” Chat added.

“Well, she has the learning assistant in school, it should not be that difficult.” Ladybug shrugged.

“Since you tampered with the miracle box and brought it to the burrow as well as the wielders I have to go and fix something.” Bunnix explained quickly, she took the box from Ladybug. “Otherwise, we might have times with infinite multiple miracle boxes or none at all.”

“Sorry Bunnix.” Chat Noir replied.

“Can you tell us what to do not to make trouble in the future?” Ladybug asked.

“Or past … “ Chat Noir cut in. “Or some other present or another timeline or a parallel universe or whatever.”

“You are right about parallel universes. You can stay here and watch, I call this a future that never happened.” She smirked. “See you soon.” She waved her hand and gout out through one window.

“What is ‘soon’ in her time frame?” Chat asked and rubbed the back of his neck.

“I have no idea.” Ladybug shrugged. “The problem is, she probably has no idea too.”

Chat chuckled.

“What are we looking at?” Ladybug frowned.

“Look, this is you in your pyjama playing with the kwami.” Chat pointed to a window.

“Oh this is when they told me that I have to go to the temple? Wait … did Sass phase into my diary? Did he read my diary?” Ladybug screamed.

“You keep a diary, Bug?” Chat raised his eyebrows, his eyes wide.

“Of course I do!” She smacked him in his arm.

“What do you write inside? All your secrets?” He grinned.

“Actually I do.” She admitted.

“Even about this?” He motioned with his hand. “About you being Ladybug.”

“In fact yes, I do.” She admitted.

“No! What if someone reads it?” He was mock incredulous.

“It is locked up.” She pouted.

“Plagg and me broke into my father’s safe.” He grinned.

“Well, Tikki could not open the box I created for it.” Ladybug grinned.

“But still, I’m sure it is not safe. What if someone steals it and finds a way to open it?” He was persistent.

“Remember the class elections when Sabrina appeared with her hand locked up in a box.” Ladybug smirked.

“No!” Chat put both his hands on his cheeks.

“Yes.” She nodded.

“I can’t believe this. Chloe could have learned your identity! Before I did.” Chat exaggerated his reaction.

“It wasn’t the only time. She found Tikki once. She thought she was a toy and gave her to prince Ali. Rose got akumatized that day.” Ladybug shrugged.

“I still can’t believe you are keeping a diary where you write all that stuff down.” He whispered.

“It is important. What if an akuma wiped out all my memories? What if I had to give up on my memories. What if ...” She was counting one her fingers, but Chat put his finger on her mouth.

“Say no more, each of those options still sends shivers down my spine.” He looked serious.

“Looks like we are not going to China in this story.” Chat stared at the screen that showed how his father left for the airport and he got to spend time alone. Then the screen showed how he video called his friends, Nino and Alya were busy, but Marinette answered.

“Oh, and I have you to keep me company over the screen.” He cooed. On Marinette’s side there were kwami floating around but Adrien was not able to see them on his screen. “Oh and look, you transformed and then you … come over for a visit?” Chat grinned.

The screen showed flustered Ladybug who talked with Adrien in his room.

“Nothing is going on in there.” Ladybug threw herself between Chat and the screen to cover the picture. But Chat simply shifted his eyes to other screens. There was one screen that showed Adrien and Ladybug playing games, watching a film in another, playing a board game, playing cards, climbing his wall, playing basketball, Adrien playing a piano for enchanted Ladybug, them having a fencing match, playing table football, sitting on a sofa and talking, Adrien holding her hand and then another kissing …

“Wow, I guess we were meant to end up together in this timeline too.” Chat grinned as he looked at the kiss.

“Yes, I um … the same … you know … I liked Chat but … ugh, we’ve been through that, but what was Hawk Moth doing?” Ladybug searched the other screens.

The akuma that caused snow storm raged for a long time, Ladybug and Chat Noir were not there to fight it because they were not aware of the attack. Nobody was sending a video to the Ladyblog.

“Looks like he got into the temple.” Chat pointed his finger to another screen. Gabriel walked the temple with Nathalie by his side.

“They got some stones and … is that another book they are reading?” Ladybug watched intently. “But they should have known that the two of them were not chosen! Pema and Dorje surely knew!”

“I do not see any of them in any of these screens!” Chat looked around frantically.

“Oh no, they got defeated by the akuma, didn’t they.” Ladybug realized. “Perhaps a few more people got injured or killed and the monks decided that in the absence of heroes, they should give him what he wanted.”

“They were without the miracle box and without heroes, and they had so many civilians to protect and … “ He stared at the screen. Gabriel returned to Paris and the mansion, he took Adrien to his office and showed him the elevator that took them to his lair.

“Tenzin probably gave him some advice on what to do or even tricked him that he received some advice.” She whispered hopefully. They looked as Gabriel transformed into Hawk Moth and showed Adrien the body of his mother. Adrien on the screen was on his knees.

“He took my ring!” Chat screamed.

“He merged the powers with the butterfly miraculous!” Ladybug covered his eyes and then hers.

“He went straight after you, civilian you! How did he know?” Chat removed her hand and watched.

“I don’t know!” Ladybug cried. There it was, the wish, Emile woke up, Marinette dropped to the floor. Adrien on the screen held Marinette and cried.

Chat pulled Ladybug into a hug, they were both crying.

Bunnix returned without the box and cleared her throat.

“Come on kids, that is one version of the parallel universe you removed from existence, I had to play something on those screens to keep you busy. So when should I bring you back?” Bunnix asked.

“Oh, you can return us when you picked us up, we’ll be fine.” Ladybug smiled.

“What about little earlier?” Chat smirked. “I’m tired I need my beauty sleep.” He teased.

“The bed was occupied earlier.” Ladybug smirked.

“And I still remember how you blushed about that.” Bunnix rolled her eyes. “Come on then”

Bunnix released them on the rooftop terrace.

“Just one more thing.” Bunnix was through the time portal only half way. “Talk to Fluff about me one of these days.”

“Of course.” Ladybug replied.

Bunnix turned around and returned to her burrow.

“So how do we fix that that future never happens?” Chat sighed worriedly.

“Last time it was sufficient to bring back my lucky charm and erase my name, but this time it is going to be far more complicated.” Ladybug frowned.

“Yeah, like making Felix feel welcome.” Chat let his shoulders sink.

“We are going to set the alarm clock and you will leave complimentary macarons for Felix and Amelie on your way back to Nino.” Ladybug poked Chat Noir into his chest with her index finger.

“As you wish my Lady.” Chat grinned.

They went through the hatch door and detransformed they both set the alarm. Adrien retrieved one piece of cheese for Plagg while Tikki floated away to the desk below for a cookie.

“Tikki? Plagg? We need to talk to you.” Marinette called quietly. The two kwami floated over.

“You are not allowed to phase back in the miracle box.” Marinette collected all her authority as a guardian.

“Especially you Plagg.” Adrien smirked. “And you should let us know if you feel anything from the box.”

”In that other reality we did not have you because you went into the miracle box, we did not have you and the miraculous were taken from us, somehow.” She continued.

“How are Nooroo and Duusu doing now?” Marinette inquired.

Plagg tilted his head, his tail swayed left and right nervously. Tikki crossed her tiny arms but her look was the one of pity.

“I think we are supposed to feel that.” Adrien noted.

“Of course we are, we are the guardians.” She replied. “I should take the pin and the brooch out and see for myself.” She was already crawling over the bed when Adrien grabbed her and pulled her back.

“Wait, the last time you did that you went unconscious for a while.” He warned her.

“If you take them out now, you will have to keep them.” Tikki warned.

“How?” Marinette asked.

“Why?” Adrien asked.

“We kwami do not know much how you guardians do that, we know how to help them ourselves.” Plagg retorted.

“We can go into the box, form a magical circle and summon the energy they lost in the temple to be restored.” Tikki replied.

“And how long does it take?” Adrien inquire.

“And are you able to stop that and get out?” Marinette crossed her arms.

“The concept of time in the miracle box is ruled by Fluff.” Plagg smirked.

“Great.” Marinette snorted.”And you wouldn’t stop because you wouldn’t know that you’re needed just like that time with Sandboy.”

As there was some time left to fix the two kwami, the four of them decided to sleep on it and consult some literature in the morning. There were still hours until the time Adrien had to leave and even a few more hours before they had school. They dozed off into well deserved sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The diary part will be important later.


	14. The Seating Arrangements

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How Felix got his seat in the class.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> reverse psychology in action

Seating arrangements

Felix knew he was going to be an outcast the second he joined the class. Because he played them and sent them awful message on behalf of Adrien. And that was fine with him, he rather enjoyed the role. Being on the side lines meant he could pull pranks without being noticed.

Then he noticed a small package of macarons on his night stand. They were obviously from Tom and Sabine bakery and he was certain they were not there when he got to his bed. That mean someone left them there while he was sleeping and he had an idea who.

The first impulse would be to call Chloe and ask her what was she thinking while she sneaked up in his room and left him this gift. But of course, that would mean she did something nice for him and she would be expecting a call and at least forced polite thank you.

But Felix knew better, he was not going to do what she expected from him, he was going to ignore the special guest welcome present or an apology present or whatever this was and just behave that it never arrived or pretend he thought all the guests were treated this way.

He opened the box and found a lovely message inside that was about new beginnings, clean starts, forgiveness, honesty, love and wished him to have a nice day. That was definitely not put together by Chloe, he suspected it just came with the macarons.

He woke up and took his time to get ready. But then he had the most brilliant idea of them all. He called for his new bodyguard and asked if he could pick up something from Adrien’s room. He intended to go to school dressed up as his cousin and make the class a fool again.

There was a slight flaw in his plan, he noticed that Adrien did not wear clothes produced by the Gabriel brand neither to school nor to the dinner last night, it might be related to his refusal to ever return to the Agreste mansion, but his classmates might still be fooled.

Felix dressed up as usual and went to have the breakfast with his mother. She presented her plan to visit the Agreste mansion already that afternoon, to acquire custody of all assets of her sister as the only heir over eighteen and learn what was Emilie’s legal status, and of course, get the second ring.

The breakfast had to finish and the boy had to get ready for school. He was glad to find Adrien’s usual black t-shirt with green stripes, white shirt, jeans and even those despicable orange sneakers. Felix took a moment to collect his bravado and changed, including the sneakers.

His hair arranged the same way his cousin usually wore, the clothes in place and the same practised smile on his face, the boy was ready for his first day in the new school. This was going to be so much fun, he expected few of Adrien’s classmates to be fooled and even more angry.

He glanced towards the small box with macarons and the message inside. It was fitting his particular situation with Adrien’s classmates a bit too much. He became aware that this was no coincidence, they wanted him to start school without the old grudges.

In the car, on his way to the school, Felix ignored confused look from the bodyguard and checked that Lila girl, that Chloe mentioned, on his phone, yes she was announced as Gabriel’s latest muse and did that photo shoot with Adrien who was not thrilled by the idea.

There was an article on the girl on the Ladyblog. Apparently, Lila lied and made an interview where she claimed to be Adrien’s secret girlfriend and that Marinette worked with Hawk Moth. Felix found both claims equally ridiculous and unbelievable.

Apparently, Lila was considered an expert liar and there were plenty people who bought into her stories.‘Another outcast just like me.’ Felix pondered. ‘And another master of illusions just like me.’ He concluded.

Lila was going to school with her new teaching assistant by her side. Without anything better to do, the girl whined how she was bullied by the class, led by Chloe and Marinette, how the second girl was evil, how she stolen her boyfriend ….

The day before, Rosa insisted on going through all of her school material, the notes, the worksheets and her homework while the rest of the class was having their lunch break and the photo session in the library, because Lila whined she was bullied she had no excuse to try and bust that.

It was irritating, Lila was not able to tell if Rosa was buying any of that. The young woman just kept making notes whenever she had any opportunity and nodded to affirm she heard the information, but all response she got in return was about the homework and classes.

Lila acted hurt while she ascended the stairs, it was an act for her teaching assistant, but few of her classmates were there, which was surprising since she was there relatively late. Well, they were probably in the locker room.

But the locker room was empty of her classmates. There were few other students that greeted her with forced politeness and skirted away. Lila hoped at least that supported her act and proceeded to her locker to leave her things and take what she needed for the next class.

“Hello Lila.” A familiar voice greeted her. She turned around. There, leaning on the locker, in his usual school clothes, in a pose worthy of a photo shoot, with that perfect model smile was Adrien Agreste, just as she remembered him from her photo shoot.

Felix allowed himself to smirk, just a little, it was working. This was Lila. Apparently she was chaperoned by some young adult onto the school premises. He discarded his intention to flirt and refer to their former relationship and see what Lila was ready to do in front of her chaperon.

“Hi Adrien.” Lila replied slyly and swayed her hips for those few steps she took towards him. She glanced towards Rosa who was busy scrolling through her phone while she waited for her protege to get ready for the class.

“I’m glad to find you here, before the class.” Felix impersonated Adrien’s gentle smile as well as he was able to. But he knew it was good enough for this girl.

“Why? So you can bully me? So you can threaten me? Did Marinette send you?” Lila shifted her act and pretended to cry, but Felix saw through that quickly. It caught the attention of the teaching assistant and he wondered what was exactly her purpose there.

“No, Lila, I could never do something like that to you.” Felix spoke gently and tried to smile reassuringly. He could see this was an act and he knew his cousin too well to believe he ever did anything even remotely like that.

“You did it! You made me work with your father! You made me work with Hawk Moth! And then you made me take the blame!” Lila protested. If Felix did not see how Lila checked if her chaperon was buying the act he might have bought it too. But it was all a show for the observer.

“Lila, please, you wanted to work for him.” Felix had to take a moment to swallow because his own father had died and remind himself that they were talking about Gabriel, he continued to impersonate the way Adrien spoke in public. Lila stared at him.

“You have been given a second chance, Lila. Why don’t we try and get along as friends?” Felix impersonated Adrien’s goofy smile, the one he had on his face when he was talking about his friend, when he was talking about his good friend Marinette, okay, maybe Felix overdid it a little.

“Oh, so you want to be friends now?” Lila crossed her arms. “What is it this time? The last time it was to get Marinette back to school.” Then she remembered to check if her learning asistant was still listening.

“Of course, I always wanted to make friends. I thought you wanted that too.” Felix knew what his cousin always wanted.

“Well, I do, I wanted friends and I had them until … you let Marinette turn everyone against me.” She whined again. Then she fluttered her eyelashes. Because if Adrien was looking at her that way then maybe she just got him for real. She latched onto his arm. He did not push her away.

“That’s not true.” Felix smiled and reached for her hand to hold. He saw that she was buying the act. She began to think how she had Adrien where she wanted him, with his help she was going to turn everyone else around and make Marinette look like a bully.

Felix wondered how far he was able to go with this act. He did try to kiss Ladybug when he thought she was his cousin’s girlfriend. The boy leaned into Lila’s space, their faces were mere centimetres apart, he had that secretive smile on his face. Rosa was looking on her phone and her notes.

Lila jumped to the opportunity and latched her lips onto Felix and kissed him. She thought she was kissing Adrien. She pushed herself onto the boy and held onto his hair. Felix did not enjoy what was going on, it was all an act, but he decided to keep it for a few seconds.

They both heard steps and voices coming over. Lila recognized the voices of her classmates, certainly Alya and Rose were walking over and chatted. Felix tried to pull away when he heard steps and voices but Lila grabbed onto his hair and pulled him closer.

“Lila what are you doing?” Alya shouted the second she came around the corner. What she saw was Lila forcefully pulling Adrien, or someone who looked like him, into a kiss and the boy tried to pull away, rather red in the face either from anger or embarrassment, or both.

“That’s not Adrien.” Juleka muttered. “We just saw him outside.”

“No, that must be Felix.” Rose piped in and crossed her arms. “Marinette told us he is joining our school and she asked us to be nice to him regardless of what happened before, remember?”

“Lila, that’s Felix, Adrien’s cousin. I don’t know whom were you trying to kiss.” Alya spoke and snickered at the girl and glared at the boy at the same time. Lila was so shocked she finally let go of the boy.

“Hi Lila.” Felix schooled himself and stood upright. “It is my first day of school here, I’m sorry, I was not prepared for such a warm greeting.” He smirked. “People often confuse me for my cousin, I was not aware you liked him so much.”

Lila glared at the boy. The anger boiled inside her. She wanted to scratch that self-satisfied smile of hiss face. That was Adrien’s cousin, not him! But then she remembered that she had to act as if she was bullied so she covered her face and pretended to cry.

“He did the same prank with us a few weeks ago.” Alya replied, her hands on her hips while she glared at Felix.

“He got three of us akumatized!” Rose piped in angrily and stared at the boy.

“He got us fooled too.” Juleka muttered.

“You know what, let’s not hold this against him.” Alya proposed. All three girls looked at each other and silently concluded that Felix was sufficiently punished when Lila forced herself on him.

“Did Marinette put you up to this?” Lila whined and pretended to cry.

“Why would Marinette put me up to this?” Felix was confused. The girl he met was not a scheming one, as opposed to the one who stood just before him, he was not going into the game with a liar leading the way.

“To make a fool out of me, again!” Lila cried out.

Felix could not help himself but have a small internal celebration. He made a fool of one of Adrien’s classmates, the rest was probably not going to be fooled because these three were not, and this girl was stupid enough to fall for his prank so much as to kiss him.

“Yeah, that was really and awful prank.” Alya noted.

“Did he pretend to hate you?” Juleka muttered, but she smirked, it was a joke, she saw what they were doing.

“No, I was just nice to her.” Felix protested. The teaching assistant confirmed.

“He did not insult you and told you he hated you?” Rose piped in.

“I’m really sorry.” He smiled apologetically, but he was not sorry at all, it made his whole act worth it. On the other hand Lila’s eagerness to kiss him pushed him away from her.

“He apologized for the misunderstanding and we have the class to go to Lila.” Rosa uttered her protege out of the locker room.

“Why did you dress up like Adrien again?” Alya faced Felix.

“Is he wearing exactly the same clothes as me?” Felix asked and played dumb.

“Actually no, he is wearing something else, he doesn’t want to wear anything from his father.” Rose piped in.

“Yeah, so you see, I wanted to fit in so I borrowed some of his clothes. All I have is my school uniform and that might be unfitting here.” He was certain his school uniform would be unfitting but he would enjoy wearing it even more.

The three girls decided to take that excuse and prepare for their first class. They were asked by Marinette that morning, just before they entered the locker room, to give Felix a chance, to be nice to him, they did not expect him pulling up a prank like that, but that was Lila who got pranked.

Felix walked around the hallways and decided he needed some time to think. That was the girl that Chloe suggested he should sit with. He checked that list of lies she made. Those lies were stupid, she was not some master of lies, he would never have bought that.

And the girl latched onto him and kissed him and pulled him closer forcibly even when he wanted to pull away. He did not invite her into his personal space. Although he put up with it for his act, he was not in the mood to live with that through the rest his time in that school.

No, he needed to sit somewhere else. It had to irritate Chloe, he had to return the favour, it had to be some place that would drive her nuts. He walked into the classroom at the last moment, just seconds before the bell rang, and as soon as he was there, he knew exactly which seat he wanted.

“Good morning class!” Ms Bustier greeted cheerfully. “We have a new student joining us, his name is Felix Graham de Vanily. Now let’s find him a nice place to sit.”

Felix took in the classroom. Lila was sitting beside her teaching assistant. That left even less space for him to avoid being touched by the girl, although she might not want to do it any more, he was not ready to take that risk, besides he fooled her already. No, he had a better idea.

“Actually.” Felix spoke tentatively to the teacher. “I was wondering if I could ask for a specific seat. I used to sit in a certain spot in my old classroom and I’d like to keep that spot here, at least until I get used to all the other changes.”

“Okay, where would you like to sit?” Ms Bustier asked kindly.

“It might be too much to ask.” He tentatively walked over to Sabrina. He knew that anyone who sat beside Chloe could be easily persuaded to give up on their seat. “What is your name?” He asked politely.

“Sabrina.” The red haired girl asked. Chloe huffed, she knew what was going to happen.

“I protest.” Chloe crossed her arms and looked at the teacher. “This is ridiculous, utterly ridiculous!”

“Now, Chloe, please be nice, this is between Felix and Sabrina.” Ms Bustier warned.

“Sabrina, please, would you be so kind as to let me sit in your spot?” Felix was the picture perfect image of politeness.

“Sure.” Sabrina smiled awkwardly, picked up her stuff and walked up to sit beside Nathaniel. The two of them smiled to each other and exchanged shy greetings before they settled down and faced forward to the teacher.

Felix expressed his utmost gratitude for the sacrifice that his kind colleague had made to accommodate his needs and expressed hope that his new classmates were so kind to forgive him his former mischief and would accept him in their class.

Ms Bustier started to take attendance and the morning show was finished.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Felix got an idea when he saw the macarons how he wanted to annoy his cousin and Chloe (and Marinette) so he dressed like Adrien, but the only person who he fooled was Lila.


	15. Felix's Seat Mate

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A glance on how Felix and Chloe are getting along

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was rewritten so many times, hopefully it makes sense now ...

Felix’s seat mate

Chloe and Felix were getting along just fine in their own way. She watched the boy who looked so much like Adrien that she had to remind herself that he’s actually Felix. The hair and the clothes easily fooled her, while the way he smiled was just what Adrien did in public.

Felix took his time to take out his things and arrange them neatly on the desk, perfectly aware of being watched by the whole class, not just his seat mate. He made sure to look straight at the teacher and only at her and ignore the rest of the students.

The boy would tease her and ask if she liked what she saw or some other cheesy line if he was a lesser man, but he was not brought up to sell cheap lines. If he was going to tease Chloe or pull a prank on her, then he is going to do it his own way.

He waited for the perfect moment, and he needed to wait for a long time, because the heiress was not taking her own notes. Right, it was probably Sabrina who did it for her. The plan was to snatch the girl’s phone and ask to go for the toilet, but the girl was checking it half the time.

That idea was never going to work with this girl, she’d notice too soon. He studied the teacher, who obviously tolerated the heiress checking her phone every few minutes in the first row. Ms Bustier was nice, smiled gently and aired positivity and love. He found that pathetic.

He did snatch the phone, still unlocked. Ms Bustier distributed worksheets and explained what they were expected to do for homework and actually asked Chloe to participate in a conversation about it. He looked at all the social media she scrolled through that just confirmed what he assumed.

“I expect you to work with your seat mate on the answers because there are two different types of worksheets.” Ms Bustier smiled.

That was the moment Chloe scoffed and looked at Felix. Her intention was to see the worksheet, but her eyes instantly fell on the phone in his left hand, her phone in his left hand. She snatched it back the same instant.

“What do you think you’re doing.” She hissed. Her fingers clutched on the phone so hart that her knuckles turned slightly white, then she reduced her grip, not to break the nails, her whole body was on high alert and protective over her prized possession.

“Oh, I was just wondering what was so interesting there to draw your attention from the teacher.” He teased, but his tone was cold and calculated. He knew she could not straight on tell the teacher that he took her phone without straight on admitting she used it the whole period.

“That’s none of your business.” She glared at the boy. Then she checked the phone, it did not look as if anyone tampered with it and he did not post anything on her accounts so she breathed out a sigh of relief, unintentionally.

“Don’t worry, I did not destroy the image you try so hard to maintain for the public with one single tap on the screen.” He snickered. “In fact, I don’t think I have to bother, you are doing a good job out from that yourself.”

“What?” She hissed. “What about your public image?” She quickly found his pages, opened up and scrolled through for him to see that she did her job and examined what he published about himself, or what he bothered to publish.

“I chose what I want to reveal about myself to the public just like you do.” He smirked. “And your choice tells more about you than you’d like to know.” The look he gave her was expected to reduce her self confidence, but she did not reveal that it succeeded.

“Anyway, you should be nice to me if you expect to get any help with that homework of yours.” She put her nose up again. “You know I’m not a big fan of your pranks nor find your mischief attractive. You were a bad influence on Adrien as it was.”

“Don’t think I did not notice you did not take a single note during the first class. I can hardly imagine you being of any use for our homework. I bet you used Sabrina to do all your schoolwork for you.” He smirked. He knew he was right just from looking at her face.

“I will have you know that I have no issues in doing my homework on my own, thank you very much and my memory works perfectly fine so I do not need to make notes from the classes.” She huffed and turned away so quickly that her pony tail flew around her head.

“Well, could you help me then about the exact year of this battle, I don’t know if I got it correctly.” He knew well that he did, the notes he took were more to note the expressions and the specific explanations this teacher provided.

Chloe huffed and opened the book.

“Ah, no, no consulting the book.” He teased.

“What do you mean? Half the students in this class have written it wrong probably, ans I expect you did the same, the best way is to consult the book. See?” She pointed towards the year and the battle, but it fit the number Felix noted.

“Well, my notes are correct apparently, and you did not memorize the year.” He concluded. They bickered and bantered and constantly tried to find what was making the other annoyed while they pretended to keep cool.

“Are they trying to determine who is the bigger brat?” Alix snickered.

“Well, I’m glad I’m not on the receiving end of any ot that.” Mylenne acknowledged and Ivan gently tapped her shoulder.

Some time during their second short break, Chloe and Felix stopped trashing each other and started to talk poorly of other people’s clothes and manners. But they always found a way to disagree on that only to keep arguing against each other.

Finally, it turned out into a full on competition that was hard to listen for anyone present. Chloe would huff and turn away, but then she would find a perfect come back to return with her nose high in the air, then Felix rolled his eyes

“You know, at first I thought you were another Chloe.” Marinette whispered to Adrien. She leaned over her bench and Adrien leaned back so they could exchange a few words without being overheard by the couple of students bickering on their right.

“Yeah, I remember.” He smirked. Marinette blushed. He did not need to say any words for he to know he was teasing her. The fact that Alya and Nino overheard them and started to snicker did not help her reduce her blush at all.

“I’m just … not sure … if this ...” She pointed towards Chloe and Felix with her thumb.”Is good or bad. I mean, it was a relief to see ho chose to sit beside her after last night.” She glanced towards Alya and Nino, she couldn’t say much more that that, she smiled awkwardly.

“Yeah, me too, I guess.” He winked towards Alya. “The way they argued at dinner last night … “ He did tell Nino, briefly, about Chloe and Felix having an argument, but his best bro did not bother to share the information with his girlfriend apparently.

“Well, let’s hope we resolved that part for now.” She turned towards Alix and Adrien followed her gaze. She did not want another Bunnix to visit her (and/or Adrien) and take them to yet another future they were expected to prevent from happening.

“And that we do not have a slightly different issue on our hands again.” He finished her thought only to confirm that he understood what she wanted to say. Some joke or a pun about not getting a rabbit for a pet would have been better, but he resisted.

“Don’t you think that Chloe and Felix would make a perfect match.” Alya whispered. Her eyes glowed with ideas and mischief, the way the two bickered made them the perfect couple in her eyes, she could already see the two of them together.

“I’m not so sure, they do not look like a match made in heaven.” Marinette replied quietly. Because what looked like permanent lover’s quarrel and could be interpreted as friendly bickering if the two were already friends, worried her substantially.

“More like in hell, but they are right for each other.” The matchmaking spree already took hold of Alya and Marinette wondered if Alya meddled for Felix and Lila to get together in that other future with same determination and energy she used to push her and Adrien together.

“I know it looks to you like they are acting as a couple, but that is not friendly bickering, they hardly know each other, it is not like they are friends.” Marinette tried to reason with Alya. She did not want her friend to meddle into this one.

“Actually, they know each other since they were kids, through me, and trust me, this is how they always were.” Adrien whispered. “Chloe always ordered around to all her friends and Felix always pulled pranks on everyone.” The boy snickered. “Sometimes I joined him.”

“As opposed to you, I do have some teal friends. Sabrina is my best friend, I am not using her only to make me notes from classes and do my homework and my school projects and … “ Chloe pouted but she was determined.

“Well, prove it, do not ask her for her notes from today’s classes and do not order her around.” Felix smirked. “And in order to make it easier on you, I’m offering my own notes.” He managed that Adrien smile to accompany his offer.

“No way, I don’t trust you that much to use your notes. Who knows what you wrote in there.” She scoffed, crossed her arms and looked away. But she was already making a plan. Nothing prevented her from taking notes from someone else and compare.

“You don’t trust me? What about your perfect memory? How are we going to work together if you don’t trust me that much and don’t tell me you don’t remember anything from that class so you wouldn’t be able to tell if ms notes were wrong!” He elaborated cooly.

Chloe realized her last outburst was exactly what he aimed at, she lost her nerve, she accepted to use his notes and faced forward. Then for the last period before the lunch break, they straightforwardly ignored each other.

Meanwhile, Sabrina was making friends with Nathaniel, and Lila glared at the copy of Adrien. Felix was so persuasive that a few teachers addressed him as Adrien before they noticed that there were two. Felix enjoyed himself so much, this prank was totally worth it.

Lunch bell rang and Felix got up to leave. His intention was to have lunch with his mother, or alone, in their room in Le Grand Paris. He loved his mother but he already knew her first goal was to fetch the other matching ring.

“I can offer you a ride and you can have sushi with me.” The heiress placed her invitation flatly. Maybe it was against all logic to anyone else, but to Chloe, it made perfect sense. She enjoyed making nasty comments and Felix was taking it all in stride, even shot back.

Felix smirked. So the girl actually wanted to spend her lunch break with him? He was not able to resist the temptation to annoy her even more, certain of his imminent success. Maybe he was even looking forward to continue the exchange of sophisticated insults and snide comments.

“Felix, would you like to join Adrien and me at the bakery?” Marinette smiled and awaited his answer. The boy might be tempted to go, if nothing else, then to be able to sneak around her room and peek anywhere and everywhere just like he usually did.

Lila had an idea of her own. She had to accept that she lost Adrien, but in order to achieve that, she told herself that the boy was not worth of her any more. A new heir to an empire ahd appeared in the classroom and the girl had her new target.

From the banter between Chloe and Felix, she learned that Amelie and her family had most stocks in Gabriel fashions, she already saw Felix as Adrien’s replacement in Gabriel adds and Amelie as a new boss of the company, she made a plan and acted.

The girl best known for her lies walked over and latched onto Felix’s arm. She swallowed a little pride that she had and decided that this approach would serve to prove that the move she did in the morning was what she actually planned the whole time.

“Felix, I could offer you to review how far we got with schoolwork and how we do things around here with me. I’m sure it would help our grades and we could learn about each other a little bit.” She held his forearm and put the other hand over his waist.

Felix flinched at her touch only a little. He was tempted to spend more time with Lila, if only to see what other prank he could pull on her. He was also certain that her teaching assistant might give a useful advice or two on what do to around Paris.

“Besides, I heard that you plan to go to the Agreste mansion this afternoon. I haven’t been there in … “ She needed a plausible amount of time. “Weeks, yes I haven’t been there for so long and I think I might left there a thing or two the last time I visited and … “

“Today’s visit is only for family members, Lila.” Marinette cut her off. She herself hoped to go there only as support for Adrien, because the boy preferred not to go himself.

“But I was Gabriel’s muse I was like a family, I hang out there all the time.” Lila gushed. Chloe rolled her eyes to that. She was ready to trash the girl, but her favourite childhood friend was faster.

“No, Lila, you were not there, certainly not in my room.” Adrien glared. He was determined to make it clear that he never liked the girl.

Felix was tempted to invite Lila just to annoy his cousin and Marinette. He half expected that the mansion will belong to his mother after the whole legal procedure got finished. He’d love to take Lila to the mansion, if only to make a further fool out of her.

“Actually, Lila, I might be able to help you out with that.” Chloe cut in. “Now that your original intention of getting an excuse to weasel yourself into the Agreste mansion has been granted, I think my new seat mate would like to join me for some fine food.”

Marinette clenched her fists. Adrien sighed. That was not what they wanted, they wanted Lila away from Felix, from the Agreste mansion and from the two of them, but it wasn’t working. The learning assistant was too busy trying to make sense of Lila’s notes to intervene in anything not school related.

“Don’t worry, he will have plenty of time to snoop around your room, Marinette, just not today. Let’s go Felix.” And the blonde heiress pulled the boy along just like usually did with Sabrina. Felix pretended to let her if only to remove himself from the classroom faster.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Felix asked once they were out. He kept his calm appearance, he even assumed Adrien’s posture, and smile to fool a few girls from other classes who stood around, but his tone to Chloe was cold.

“The police is conducting an investigation, she will have to go there as a witness.” Chloe replied quietly.

“Oh, sneaky.” Felix snickered. So that girl was going there anyway, with police following her each step. That was going to be a show.

“Now let’s go and remove ourselves from this establishment. I do not intend to spend here more time than absolutely needed for educational purposes.” Chloe walked away with her nose high as her perfect pony tail swung in the rhythm of her steps.

“I can hardly imagine any actual education going on in here.” Felix snickered. “I thought your father would have managed to send you to some more prominent establishment.” The cold venom in his voice taunted.

“Well, apparently your mother and uncle did not find anything better either.” She shot back with a smirk. She entered the car and slid away to make space for Felix who took a moment and pretended to consider it for a moment before he finally followed her into the car.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay, so now this one is out, phew, good or bad, I hope the intention is clear.


	16. Their First Task

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Back to Pema and Dorje.  
> It is time for their first assignment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Contains references to the era just before the First Opium War, therefore the opioid is mentioned in this chapter as well as the next few.  
> Yesterday I saw a kids cartoon where a cat got stoned and it depicts the effects in more detail than I do in this chapter (and few chapters to follow) so I think the rating can be kept.

Their First Task

The children that received their education and training at the temple often went out for different reasons. Most often it was part of a lesson or a training, often it was for regular work and trade, but the travels were usually short.

A group of monks went to a big city that was about one week of walk away from the temple, there they would join a festival, trade, see other monks from other temples and exchange information on the current affairs and other knowledge.

Rarely, they would venture away and travel long distances, they would bring back new students as well as interesting novelties and news from all over the world. And yet, they knew, that there was a special power that allowed them to travel far in an instant.

She studied the ancient scripts that described how the temple was built and which kinds of magical forces were used to keep it safe from any kind of attack from the outside, magical or not as well as the magic that was hidden within.

The temple was the training ground for future wielders, but they were not supposed to transform and use their powers on the temple premisses. The kwami were discouraging it and as far as they knew, nobody ever tried to transform on the temple premisses.

Nobody told them it was impossible to use magic inside the temple, just not to do it, and all of them respected their home too much to try, it would take utmost trial and despair to make one try and transform on the premises of their magical home.

Dorje was always protective of his new home. Nobody dared to inflict any damage to it in his vicinity. He grew tall with wide shoulders, strong and relentless, he would have made a truly strong and brave warrior, so he was trained to be in charge of the most valuable possession – the temple itself.

Pema knew that both of them were hardly children any more, but still far from being adults. There was no hurry to grow up in the temple, nobody was forcing her to marry. She felt affection to Dorje, it was different and stronger than for anyone else she ever met, but she never acted on it.

Dorje was always protective of her. Probably as much as he was protective over the home they shared, the temple. He liked to touch her by accident and they often engaged in verbal battles or chatted about anything long into the night.

It was in a morning after they spent a night in their conversations that they were summoned to a meeting with two of their temple leaders, two elderly monks called Tenzin and Dolma. They had a task to fulfil, there was a danger and evil coming about. None of them felt ready but accepted.

“You shall go there alone. You are going there to bear witness to the events and do not intervene unless there is a magical evil involved.” Dolma was setting out the rules. “The only purpose for the magic we give you is to take you there and protect you from any threat.”

“There is a new kind of magic being sold in exchange for silver and other goods. Some say it makes people feel good and other say that it brings out the worst in them. You are asked to go and see what it is.” Tenzin advised.

The two kids were asked to join hands and a piece of cloth was wrapped around them. Dorje just smiled sheepishly, he had no idea what was that. Pema watched the faces of the two elderly monks and started to be nervous in anticipation.

“Consider this your first trial in your training to become the future guardians of the temple. Since you are to share the duty we here proclaim you married into a single entity.” Dolma spoke solemnly. “You are now as one.”

Suddenly it became crystal clear what had just happened to them. They were married. Pema looked at the boy with wary eyes. What was he going to do to her now that he was her husband? But the boy just smiled gently, confused and surprised by the whole ordeal and she relaxed.

“You are mere children, so your miraculous is going to issue you warnings after you use your power and you are going to detransform after a time of about fifty breaths.” Tenzin warned the kids about something they already knew.

“Dorje, we have decided to give you the horse miraculous, you will use it to go to the great harbour on the coast of an ocean where the magical thing is being brought in to this part of the world.” Dolma solemnly announced and gave the boy a pair of glasses.

Kaalki appeared and greeted the boy who adjusted the glasses on his face. He had only seen half blind elderly men and few women with the device and thought of him as odd because he was still a young man.

Pema was given a choker, it was the dragon miraculous, considered to be the most useful as it provided her with a weapon as well as magic that could help her defeat armies. Longg greeted her with much praise and the two were ready to go.

“Before you go, we have one more thing for you to take.” Dolma continued. “This is a pair of magic rings. It gives you a special connection to each other as well as this place. These rings have the power to protect you as they were forged here in the temple used our magic.”

They went to a cave. Dorje transformed and opened a portal they joined hands and walked through. Nothing could have prepared them to what they encountered on the other side. It was crowded, it was busy, people shouted, pushed each other around, it was a harbour and there were ships on one side and there were buildings on the other and a lot of people in between.

They hid for Dorje to detransform, but they already saw so many new and unbelievable things that they felt detransforming in the middle of the crowd would not bring up too much attention onto them.

Dorje was overwhelmed, he had seen the chaos of the markets before, but this was so much more. There was the stench of the harbour in the air, there were people of all kinds of clothes and skin colour bustling around while the embankment was filled with goods for sale.

Pema was cautious, after the bad experience from the last religious festival, years ago, when she got separated from the rest of her group and ended up in the Tibetan temple, she clutched onto Dorje’s arm and looked around wary of everything and anything.

People spoke in languages that even Pema did not understand, she translated to Dorje as much as she could, what was for sale, what the buyers were looking for, what the people chatted at different corners. Dorje enjoyed his role of being the protector slightly too much.

They have been walking around the busy harbour for hours. Often a girl or a woman would approach them and say something, sometimes it was a man, Pema would pull Dorje away with no explanation, but when it started to get dark, it happened far more often.

“What are they saying? Do you understand? What are trying to sell?” Dorje inquired from time to time. At first he thought that Pema did not understand them, but he was becoming that she did and just did not want to share.

“They are selling themselves.” Pema finally admitted. “Their bodies.” She clarified. She looked away from Dorje.

“What? How?” He demanded.

She started to translate offers of specific actions, they both blushed, but he encouraged her to continue. Sometimes they did not have a clue what specific actions meant, but the body language and their imagination filled in the blanks in a way they did not find pleasant.

There was one word offered at every corner and they both did not know the meaning of it. The only thing they understood was that it was sometimes advertised with ‘feel the magic’ or ‘transfer into the magical world’ just like some women promised while they offered their bodies.

‘In order to protect the temple you have to learn about the world.’ They were told. ‘There are evils and goods out there that do not involve any magic.’ Was another lesson. ‘A human being can commit atrocities far worse than any magical creature.’

Both muttered the advice they got back in the temple to each other trying to reassure themselves while they became more and more painfully aware that their lack of experience might be their doom.

“We can always just go back using the horse miraculous and you can defeat anybody using the dragon miraculous.” Dorje whispered reassuringly. Pema straightened up and looked at the world with different eyes, it was far less scary, because now she could use the power to protect herself.

It was getting dark when they collected courage to enter some kind of establishment and see what was going on inside. They saw different persons who ate their meals, other were drinking, but some were inhaling smoke from tubes and releasing it into the air with glassy eyes.

“What is that?” Dorje asked Pema, perhaps slightly louder than intended, maybe a little surprised and scared from what was going on before him. They both saw people smoking before, but Pema saw that glassy device used before.

“They are smoking something.” She whispered.

“Yeah, I see that, but people do not behave like that when they smoke something. I saw people who looked like that, but they were chewing some leaves that my parents never used but to relieve the pain.” Dorje whispered.

“I believe that is what the masters sent you to observe.” Kaalki suggested from his hiding place.

“Be careful, my fair master.” Longg warned.

“We should stay and observe. Maybe ask questions.” Pema used a coin to get them some food and tea while they took a seat on a carpet with cushions. Their robes that clearly showed they were monks earned them little attention.

They were slightly disappointed in the food, but they were hungry so they ate it. The tea tasted differently, it was not the usual Tibetan tea they had nor any kind of the herbal teas they ever tried, but it kept them awake and alert to observe what was going on.

Men and women would consume the smoky substance and become lost to the world. Most would just become numb, others would start mumbling and stumbling around, few became violent. Men and women alike entered the premises and demanded to smoke.

The two monks left the premises of that particular establishment and walked the street while they observed what else was going on around them. It was already dark and they often peeked through the windows to see what was going on. There were no private homes there, anyway.

They witnesses intercourses in all combinations of sexes, the participants and observers alike enjoyed some of that magical smoke. They saw several participants unconscious. The scenes made the two disgusted at what human beings were able to do to themselves and each other.

Sometimes, a man or a woman would beg for the substance that ensured that smoke, and they were refused, because they had no silver coins to pay for that. Women would get parts of them naked and offered in exchange, men would draw knives and demand the purchase.

Suddenly, they both became aware that this chaos around them, the trade, the crowds, the violence, and the prostitutes all revolved around one single thing, it was that item offered at any corner in exchange for the most precious coins they had.

It was offered to the two of them time and time again, everyone was buying, everyone was getting it, nobody cared about the consequences it had on their bodies, minds and souls. It was abundant although expensive and offered an escape into some magical world.

The people around them took the leap and enjoyed that escape, their lost eyes, their frantic moves or complete numbness, mumbling and stumbling, scrams or just empty stares, it all showed that their minds were somewhere else and they would sell their soul to get there.

The substance and the magic they all strived for?

It was called opium.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The temple disappeared approximately at the time just before or during the First Opium War in China.  
>  I have never tried the drug and the descriptions here are based on experiences written down by writers who did it more or less at the time (so it was the same substance) and the works I was expected to read for my literature assignment in high school (Paul Verlaine, Charles Baudelaire, Arthure Rimbaud ... )


	17. Lunch Dates

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Teenagers go away from school for their lunch breaks, deal with homework and plenty of other stuff. Amelie tries to make a move, Felix and Chloe bicker. Adrien and Marinette are called as witnesses for the case of Emilie.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The second part is an argument, might be hard to read.

Lunch dates

What Marinette intended to do during the lunch break was to go home for the lunch break, with Adrien, and try to deal with the problem of Nooroo and Duusu apparently fading away even while they were hidden in the magic world of the miracle box.

That morning, she tried to do it on her own, but she felt no distress, just tired, perhaps even exhausted, but nothing really life threatening. Tikki assured her that was okay, but the girl doubted her abilities to hod the duties of the guardian of the miracle box.

Adrien was very much in favour of her plan. The only problem he saw in it was the part when she proposed to take the jewels out and try to bring the two kwami out. He was as distressed as she was with the two kwami that were so numb they appeared dead.

“Don’t worry kid, Nooroo and Duusu are fine.” Plagg told Adrien during one of their talks in the bathroom. The tiny god of destruction did the best he could to sound certain and definite about that while he spoke to his chosen.

“Yeah, that is why you and Tikki wanted to sneak into the box.” The boy was not persuaded. “The problem is I do not feel more than exhausted whenever I try to feel what it would be like for Nooroo and Duusu.”

“Yeah right. That is actually immense success on your side.” Plagg teased. The tiny black cat floated around and snickered at the memories when Adrien was certain that he was able to recognize Ladybug’s civilian identity the moment he saw her.

“What do you mean?” Adrien frowned. He knew when his kwami was teasing him, there was a certain lilt in his voice, his tail flickered from side to side and his ears would move up while he tried to keep distance.

“Well, you do not have the best score in perceiving how other human beings feel about you, so to feel this much about how a kwami feels is actually success.” The tiny black kwami floated slightly beyond Adrien’s reach not to get swatted.

“But why the distress call then?” The boy was not convinced.

“It wasn’t really a distress call, it is more like a cry for help … “ Plagg trailed off, Adrien’s face showed his concern only increased. “No! I’m saying it wrong, it is more like come and help us so we would heal faster or something.”

“So you were just looking for an excuse to go back to the miracle box and your enchanted world. Am I right?” The boy smirked.

“Oh, that was actually Tikki’s idea.” Plagg smirked, he never missed an opportunity to blame someone else.

And Adrien did not believe him.

“I studied what I have about treating ill kwami and did not find anything better that the healing chant that Master Fu did when Tikki was ill.” Marinette whispered to Adrien. They were walking over to the locker room together just after Felix and Chloe walked away.

“That worked really well, and I felt very sick and tired that day.” Tikki chirped from the girl’s purse.

“Let’s try that, if it worked on Tikki, it should work on Nooroo and Duusu.” Adrien beamed.

“It is just … the procedure is rather noisy, we would have to do it somewhere else.” The girl noted.

“Not to mention that doing it once is not going to be enough.” Plagg muttered. Then both kwami hid in the purse and the shirt pocket and kept quiet.

“Hey girl!” Alya called. “I hate to disturb your lunch plans with your boyfriend, but we do have some worksheets that we are expected to do together for homework.” She smirked and watched as the blush raised in Marinette’s face .

“I did not have any puch slans Alya!” She stuttered back.

“Oh, you so did, you’re even mixing up your words again.” Alya cackled.

“Actually dude, we could do our worksheets in the evening when you get back home, if you want.” Nino offered. But Alya kicked him with her elbow lightly not to interfere and the boy adjusted his hat. Well, Alya did not have the privileges of an evening session.

“No, why don’t we all go to Marinette’s? I have such craving for something from the bakery for the lunch break. It had been forever since the last time I had a chance to eat there and … “ Alya stressed her words with exaggerated movements of her hands.

Adrien looked at Marinette. He did not feel entitled to make a decision on that, but he felt like they might postpone the activity of recovering the two sick and exhausted kwami, especially after she noted they might need it somewhere else, where they would be able to make noise.

“Well, we could do it that way.” Nino obviously suddenly felt craving for the treats from the bakery too. He rubbed his stomach while he continued to speak. “That way my dude over here will be able to go to bed early and catch on his beauty sleep.”

“What can I say, old habits die hard. I used to be a model after all.” He grinned, although his initial instinct was to protest against that claim, it was a good excuse to sneak out as Chat Noir and go visit Marinette in the evening and deal with the two ill kwami.

The four of them left the locker room and chatted entirely unaware of Lila who eavesdropped to their whole conversation from the other row of lockers. She stole a few minutes alone from her chaperon under pretence she needed something from her locker and listened to the other teens.

“So, Adrien does not intend to continue his modelling career.” She muttered to herself. “And if he plans to eat in the bakery the whole time, he does not intend to keep the shape he needs to be one. I was right, I need to get my hands on Felix.”

She already had her hands and lips on the boy that morning, but then she thought he was Adrien, and she was offended by the boy who pretended to be the model she wished to date. But now she schemed how to use that to her advantage.

The homework got started on only after a considerable amount of pastries got annihilated. Marinette insisted on doing the worksheets then, if that was indeed the reason for the friends to have the lunch together. Besides, she knew she had issues in finding time later.

They progressed much faster than anticipated, and the conversation started to slip back to the class and whatever Felix and Chloe were doing. It started to get awkward even for Nino who got used to Alya’s antics when the bell on the door rang.

It was officer Raincomprix with Sabine.

“Hi kids, I know you submitted your accounts on what happened through e-mail while we were on our way, but the police still wants to talk to you.” Sabine smiled nervously. “Adrien, you should call your legal representative and let her know your decision.”

“I’m really sorry to interrupt, but in order to complete to police investigation regarding Emilie Agreste, both of you are required to go to the Agreste mansion this afternoon and answer a few questions on the scene.” Officer Raincomprix clarified.

“We … should go back … to the mansion?” Marinette stuttered and looked towards Adrien to check how he was feeling about this. They were discussing the boy’s mother with such ease, it must have been awful for the boy.

“Yes, we have dug our way into the lair and we need you there to describe what you saw.” The police man clarified. He adjusted his hat nervously, well aware that the boy in front of him had been through much, but the man did not know a better approach.

“Are you sure you’re up to this, Adrien?” Sabine asked gently. She was definitely aware that going back to the mansion and talking about his mother was a huge emotional toll. “Tom and me can be there on behalf of Marinette and support you too.”

“It has to be done.” Adrien shrugged after a long quiet moment. “We can all go there straight after school today.” But then Marinette motioned to Alya that this did not include an amateur reporter and her boyfriend.

Marinette held Adrien’s hand firmly. She was going to be there for him, even her parents were going to be there for him. They had to go there, into the lair and face whatever they find there this time, hopefully the sarcophagus is going to be empty.

“Besides, I want to know what really happened to my mother and I am happy to help.” He plastered his model smile over his face and neither Marinette nor Sabine were fooled. But that was sufficient for the police officer to thank the boy and leave.

Felix stepped out from the car and held the door for Chloe. As annoying and obnoxious as he found her, he was still a gentleman and he intended to keep that image.

“Thank you Felix.” The heiress answered politely, but her face did not show any gratefulness and her nose was high.

The two of them walked to the lift together rather surprised that the other was walking in the same direction, each of them checked their phone.

“My mother asked me to join her for lunch today.” Chloe smiled. “I have invited you to join me for sushi, but I will have to see what she wants first.”

“That is okay, I guess.” He smirked, it was becoming a chore to always find a way to lightly offend the irritating heiress by his side. “I’m having lunch with my mother too, but not in our room. She sent me the directions.” He clarified with no intention of revealing his final destination.

Both of them went to press the same number in the lift.

“Top floor?” Chloe screeched. “But that’s where I’m going.” She huffed. That was also the place where she lived.

They glanced towards each other while the door closed and they started to move up, but only when the other was not looking, so their eyes did not meet. They arrived to the top floor and walked out only to be met and escorted by battler Jean to go together to the terrace.

“Chlorine, Claude .. I mean Chloe, so nice of you to join us for lunch.” Audrey greeted. “And Philippe, no, Frances … I mean Felix, nice of you to join us too.”

“Chloe, Felix, how was school today?” Amelie smiled and looked at the two kids.

“Oh, I got the best seat mate ever.” Felix smirked with a tone of sarcasm in his voice.

“I got the worst seat mate ever.” Chloe huffed and let herself drop onto the chair.

“Are you sitting together in class?” Amelie raised her eyebrows. Her eyes moved from one teenager to another and then back.

“And he asked for Sabrina to move, can you believe that?” Chloe whined.

“It was good for you, you were getting too attached to that girl, and she has no sense of fashion and no style, that brooch she is wearing really destroys that vest she put it on.” Audrey tried to act as a mother who wanted to make her daughter feel better, in her own way.

“The brooch was an excellent choice, I gave it to her to improve that awful vest she is wearing.” Chloe protested. “It is a designer brooch mum!”

Felix could not help himself but snicker.

“Well the brooch is totally out of her style, when it sits on her vest, it just screams distaste.” Audrey concluded.

“But I gave it to her! It is the best friends brooch!” Chloe pouted.

“Felix, did I hear that correctly? You asked a classmate to move to accommodate you?” Amelie asked quietly. “That wasn’t nice. I thought we agreed for you to try and be nice to your new classmates to make up for hurting them due to that prank you pulled the last time.”

Felix stopped his snickering and schooled his face.

“And why are you dressed up as Adrien again? Did you try to fool anyone with the same joke again? I mean, it was funny when you did it to Gabriel, even Emilie and me laughed about it each time we remembered, but it wasn’t funny to those kids you hurt the last time.” She scolded.

“Sorry mother, I was just trying to fit in so I borrowed some of Adrien’s clothes. He said last night he never intended to wear that again. My school uniform would really make me look like I do not fit in that school.” And it would show the way he thought about himself.

“Well, Felix is right to copy Adrien’s style. It is much better than a school uniform would be. I’m so glad we do not have to wear school uniforms in France. I couldn’t stand it. Imagine for me to be dressed the same as my classmates? Ridiculous, utterly ridiculous.” Chloe spoke with confidence.

“Actually, I disagree. The school uniforms are the best way to show who really has personality and style, because it is not just the uniform, it has to fit you, you have to wear it the right way and it is the proper way to address the educational challenges … “ Felix was giving a speech.

“Please!” Chloe huffed. “Showing off my clothes is the best way to present my personality and style to the world. I mean, nobody in that class is able to dress up as me … save Adrien, and now you …” She trailed off, she really wasn’t the only one.

“Come on, uniforms are far less annoying, Adrien was just a puppet for his father’s brand.” Felix frowned. “You can’t really mean that his style was his own choice? It was predetermined and programmed by some company official, not himself.” He glared at his friend.

“Well, there is nothing wrong in asking a stylist for a little help.” Chloe pouted. “It is not trivial to look this dazzling, to have everything to match in style, my clothes and shoes and hair and make up. Besides, you copied Adrien’s style, who are you to talk?”

“Actually, wearing Gabriel brand these days might be interpreted the wrong way, as if you are supporting the actions of the two supervillains. That man’s actions really put a shade on all his design work.” Audrey concluded.

“Actually, that is something I wanted to talk to you about. You see, I intend to take over the assets of the company on behalf of my sister. She did not participate in the crimes committed by her husband and we should lift that shade together.” Amelie spoke softly.

“As far as I know from my husband, the city of Paris has currently frozen all Gabriel’s assets due to an impending compensation. The role of your sister, Emilie, as well as anybody else, is still being investigated by the police force.” Audrey recited.

“But surely, I could access some personal belongings of my sister from the Agreste mansion?” She did not mention the second ring explicitly. “And I would like to be informed if not involved in the investigation about what happened to my sister.”

“That is not for me to decide. Besides, I thought we were having a friendly lunch, a lovely get together after we haven’t seen each other in a long time.” Audrey frowned. “Did you invite me here to try and influence what my husband is doing?”

“Why not? Your daughter does it all the time? She bragged about it on he way here.” Felix teased. His own mother nudged his foot under the table to silence him. Audrey frowned first at Felix, then at her daughter. Chloe scoffed and turned away which let her pony tail swing.

“Andre Bourgeois is an elected mayor of Paris. The city is ruled by his wisdom and good judgement not by the whims of his teenage daughter. As far as my expertize is concerned, I can tell you that that outfit doesn’t fit your personality at all.” Audrey crossed her arms and looked at the side.

The four would continue to argue, about anything any of them could remember, save Amelie who tried and failed to persuade Audrey to let her have her sister’s share in the house and other assets that belonged to her.

Finally, Chloe excused herself to go and work on the homework and Felix followed. They bickered and bantered but the worksheets were filled by the time battler Jean came to remind them it was time to return to school.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you for surviving this argument.


	18. A New Family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Continuation of the story about Pema and Dorje.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> warning: I have never tried the drug and the descriptions here are based on experiences written down by writers who did it at the time (so it was the same substance) and the works I was expected to read for my literature assignment in high school (Paul Verlaine, Charles Baudelaire). When I was 13, one of the books in obligatory literature included Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo (We Children of Zoo Station).

Pema and Dorje knew about natural remedies, about teas they would be given when ill, when in fever, when coughing, when having digestive issues, when in pain, each ailment had its remedy, apparently, or so their experience told them, but people still died, so not all, obviously.

Dorje had seen people under influence of alcohol and drugs before. On the high plains, where he grew up, he saw people purchase some green leaves, chew them and then become senseless, their eyes glassy and lost, or they would simply fall asleep.

The problem was that, his parents were not using it and did not know much about it save it was bad, and as a child, he hardly knew the difference it made, the person was crazy, obsessed and violent before taking it and again crazy obsessed and violent after, except if they fell asleep.

Pema had seen people smoking the drug before. Her mother always started to walk faster when she saw other people taking the drug. She was sure her uncle indulged himself from time to time, but they spent so little time together she wasn’t sure.

“That can’t be really magical.” Longg warned. The kwami did not know much about the remedies and the teas that humans prepared to heal their wounds or feel better, they would often refer to such items as magical and the ancient being did not approve for the use of the word outside his realm.

“Yes, you come from a jewel that can’t be spent, but you still require food to be fed.” Pema teased her kwami. She was rather familiar with the concept that the miraculous jewels they wielded contained the real magic while everything else was just a human construction.

“That smoke has no magic in it, while the lighting, the wind and the rain I create are truly magical.” The tiny dragon protested. “It doesn’t affect my powers and it is not made of the mystery and imagination.”

“You can’t say that it does not affect your powers until you tried it.” Pema pouted. “We have seen what effects it had on other people.” And she dreaded the possibility to have to try the substance herself, but she had to be brave, she was sent there to investigate and granted a miraculous.

“Those are just human beings, not kwami.” Longg protested. “And I am sure that most of them do not even come from respectable families worthy of the true magic that is given by the power of miraculous.”

“Indeed.” Kaalki confirmed. “They are simple merchants, tradesmen, sailors and local working class, some of them do jobs that are not even worth mentioning by a noble horse so I will not utter them here.”

“There is nothing wrong in working for a living.” Dorje protested. He came from a family of nomads who raised cattle. Pema rolled her eyes, she hardly came from a family that these kwami would consider noble.

“The two of you have become worthy of wielding a miraculous through your search for knowledge and wisdom and the skill in controlling our powers.” Kaalki reminded them.

“You have been through the training process.” Longg added. “And the Guardian considered you worthy to wield us. That is how you became our masters.”

They continued to walk around the harbour and observe what was going on, although it was late in the evening, the bars were busy and the streets and alleys were seldom empty. They watched as the trade went on all around them, but they never stepped up to participate.

“They are collecting a lot of silver coins in exchange for that magical powder.” Dorje noted. “They sold leaves with similar effect on the markets up there on the high plains where I grew up.” His father never advertised that as an experience worth trying.

“Well, few people in my village smoked something like that, but I was too young to understand what exactly was going on.” Pema retorted and her eyes told him ‘so were you’. The only thing she did know was that neither of her parents approved of the practise.

“We were sent here to explore this new magic and we should just do it.” Dorje sighed. He was not looking forward to that but he understood that was their task, their mission. He straightened up to embolden himself as if he had just reached a decision.

“Perhaps we should just purchase some samples and take them back to the temple?” Pema inquired. She still had second thoughts, she fiddled with the choker and wondered if she was a coward if she wanted to refrain from this particular challenge.

“We do not have such a device to produce smoke from it in the temple.” He stated with certainty of a person who explored each corner of the temple. Finally he had a fact that he could state with certainty in this world full of unanswered questions.

“We could purchase the device too?” She proposed with caution. That device certainly had a price and she was not sure they were given sufficient amount of coins to get that too. That was the most familiar activity she did in the outside world, to go shopping on the market with her mother.

“If this is some kind of evil magic, I don’t want to bring it to the temple.” Dorje replied decisively he wanted to be the protector of the temple, that was his gift, that was his calling and that what he wanted to be chosen for, if they let him wield a miraculous too, he was fine with that.

“You’re right. That is a valid reason. Besides, the temple is enchanted and has magic of its own. The effect of this opium magic could be distorted there.” She trained for the temple guardian and had a really bad feeling about this substance they faced.

“This was made by humans, you should not believe that it’s magic.” Kaalki warned.

“Perhaps it is not, but all the tea remedies are also man made.” Dorje replied to his kwami.

“Besides, we were sent here to explore and report what it is.” Pema noted.

“And we can’t really claim that we know until we ask and try.” He confirmed.

The discussion with their kwami continued while the two roamed the streets in search of a trustworthy merchant or someone who would care to explain them what that substance was and what were its effects.

Finally, they stumbled upon a young couple, she was perhaps only a few years older than them and the man was probably in the late twenties. She had light hair, powdered and put up with many decorations in her hair and a large dress. He had blonde hair, green eyes and an elegant suit.

“Oliver, is this all that I get for escaping my father for a night.” The young woman teased.

“Therese, I’m getting you back and then I’m going to ask for your hand properly.” Oliver replied gently.

“As if my father would give me to you, he wants to give me to his old friend Rufus.” Therese huffed.

“Well, Rufus and your father are currently busy smoking the goods they brought to sell to these fine people here.” The man was obviously talking with sarcasm.

“Yeah, making a deal, trying to decide how much my hand is worth.” Therese huffed.

“I don’t think that the trade involves only your hand.” Oliver leaned in for a kiss.

“Don’t remind me, it makes me sick to my stomach, I would rather … I will jump off the ship.” She replied decisively.

“You are not going back, Monsieur Rufus is the outpost of the East India company here.” He retorted.

“So even that escape was taken away from me.” Therese whined. “Why aren’t you a rich merchant with connections and no conscience.”

“I intend to become one.” Oliver hinted with a vicious smirk.

“And use me and my father for that!” She smacked his arm playfully. “What makes you different than Rufus, Monsieur Graham?”

“I am younger and better looking.” He wiggled his eyebrows. “And you actually want to go to bed with me, Mademoiselle de Vanily.”

“Your behaviour is unacceptable for a young lady like me.” She retorted. “Anyway, we should go back inside.”

“Eager to taste what your father is selling?” He teased.

“He wouldn’t let me.” She whined. “So let’s do it!”

Pema and Dorje followed the fancy couple into a house. It was far more fancy than any house they ever stepped into. Pema paid the entrance fee and they got into a large room with fancy chairs, made of soft dark blue fabric and with lion shaped wooden legs.

The couple were offered to share a wide seat, meant for two and facing the other couple they saw outside. Both couples got their devices to smoke. The candles lit up the luxuriously furnished room and the atmosphere was relaxed.

“Oh, look, it’s the monks, they want the stuff too.” Therese snickered. “Would you like to try some magic potion that Europeans have brought to your fair land?” She teased. She did not expect to be understood by the couple sitting on the other sofa.

“Can you tell us more about what this is?” Pema asked timidly. She and Dorje nudged each other with their elbows and communicated with their eyes and decided to wait a little and ask a few questions to perhaps learn something before trying the substance.

Therese was talkative, her father was a merchant whose job was to purchase opium in Bengal where it was grown and sell it to China in exchange for silk, porcelain and tea. Oliver joined in and explained how the stuff was also used for a remedy so it had to be good.

Tentatively, Dorje and Pema took in some of the stuff, and as far as they were aware, they felt no effects whatsoever, lulled in the false sense of security, an idea that they might even be resistant to any magic it offered, they continued to use the device..

The couple on the other side seemed relaxed and encouraged the conversation to continue. The two monks started to talk about the temple they came from and their mission to explore the magic brought by the opium. Well, it was Pema who talked and translated for Dorje.

Oliver saw a trading opportunity and encouraged them to talk more. They explained how they got married and got a matching pair of rings that established a special connection between them, they both giggled at that because they had much more powerful jewels with them but never mentioned.

Pema and Dorje were under influence, they started to talk about magic and kwami, but so incoherently that neither Therese nor Oliver took them seriously. The four of them babbled and laughed and even if a kwami did appear in plain sight, they would have taken it as an illusion from the drug.

Pema started to negotiate a purchase of the smoking device and a stash of opium to take to the temple and Oliver was pleased to oblige, as much as any trade could be done in the state they were in.

The two monks fell asleep on the chaise, huddled together in an almost comatose sleep. They woke up hours later, their silver coins, their rings, her choker and his glasses were gone.

“Oh no.” Pema was the first to notice that his glasses were missing. “How are we to get back to the temple?”

“It had to be them, they took it from us.” Dorje noted tiredly, he was recovering from the influence.

Pema stared at the note on a parcel and the smoking device.

“Have I traded it for this?” She felt her stomach sink. “I would never have traded a miraculous for this. Not even our rings.” She noted while she observed her hand.

They discussed what to do next. Pema sneaked around until she found a small and currently abandoned kitchen and made some tea for the two of them to recover. They hid in the kitchen and drank the tea and tried to make a plan.

“They must be regulars here or live nearby.” Pema noted while she peeked through a narrow window. “She wanted to return in here after they spoke outside.”

“You propose to wait for them here, hidden somewhere?” Dorje asked in return. He was looking for a hiding spot inside the house that would accommodate his already tall body.

“We could scout around, but I don’t know if we would be able to come back.” Pema noted.

The two monks walked carefully around the house, it was a small hotel and apparently most of the inhabitants were still unconscious. They have found several possible exits where they could easily sneak back inside, through the windows they left unlatched and a back door before they left.

They wandered the streets and watched the city wake up from the busy night. There were merchants, there were ladies in elegant dresses and there were plenty of other people going about their businesses. A church was ringing in the distance and the two monks followed the sound.

Their curiosity brought them straight to the steps of the small church to see a ceremony. The couple they met last night was standing in front of the altar. The two monks hid on the side and waited for them to come out.

“Tell me that this is better than jumping from a ship into the ocean, Madame Graham de Vanily.” The man teased while the couple was getting out from the church.

“It definitely does and I’m glad that silver you got was sufficient to bribe the priest to marry us, Monsieur Graham de Vanily.” She replied with a laugh.

“Well, it was a fair trade, I left them enough stuff for those coins. And the rings. We needed wedding rings, didn’t we?” He grinned.

“Yeah, but why have you taken his glasses?” She inquired. “I mean I really liked the choker, but I swear I saw a mouse floating around when I took it.”

“That was that magnificent stuff we bring into this country. I also saw some creatures floating around during the night.” He cackled. “The glasses are expensive, we will need the money.”

“But why did you then take my surname?” She inquired.

“It is to please your father.” Oliver sobered up a little. “I still hope to have a job to be able to support us.”

“Oh, yes, you’d need that.” She replied coldly.

“Because, you Madame, are not supposed to do any work.” He grabbed her on his arms and swung her around.

“What are we going to do now?” She asked quietly.

“We are going to consume our marriage so that your father can not annul it and give you to Rufus. Then we are going to beg his forgiveness and I am probably going to need another job.” He smirked.

“Well, you do have a job with the East India company already, and with your father’s connections … “ She trailed off.

“Your father is far better off than mine and his power and connections reach further, especially here.” He replied. “And with my older brothers, I do not have much to hope for.”

“Count your blessings that you were not born a woman, then.” She retorted. “Apparently the only thing us girls are good for is to seal fathers business deals.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that is the origin of the Graham de Vanily family. At least in this story.  
> I'm not trying to depict pure evil, just desperate and slightly crazy in love.


	19. Family Possesions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The argument between Amelie and Audrey escalates at the Agreste mansion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> trying to get the scene better and it just gets worse?  
> yep' that's me
> 
> Note: In France, taking an item from a family member is not considered theft and is not investigated by the police. Also, children have the right on inheritance, weather they were born in marriage or not, it is illegal to disinherit a child.

Family possessions

That afternoon, Adrien and Marinette walked over to the mansion. Officer Raincomprix was friendly, major Bourgeois was there to meet them, and they briefly explained that the only place they visited while teleported from the temple was in the lair.

The police broke through a temporary wall that was hiding the lair from the rest of the mansion, took photos, and sampled evidence for the activities that were going on there. They were ready to question the witnesses.

Adrien’s legal adviser was there as well ad Tom and Sabine. But then a car arrived from around the corner with a rather familiar drive who greeted Tom and Sabine particularly friendly and patted Adrien on the shoulder before he opened the door of the car.

An elegant shoe popped out of the car in the manner practised for red carpets, then a leg dressed in an elegant suit and finally the whole woman was out of the car, dressed up exactly as Adrien remembered his own mother often was dressed. Felix followed unceremoniously.

“I am acting on behalf Emilie Agreste, my sister and Adrien’s mother.” Amelie spoke calmly. “My family owns the largest amount of shares in the company and I am here to take over the business. I believe this is in the best interest of Adrien Agreste as well.”

The woman smiled and spoke warmly and kindly. Officer Roger was ready to be wrapped around her finger. Adrien smiled for his aunt, but inside he cringed, he would have believed every word if it wasn’t for last night.

“So you are Adrien’s aunt?” Officer Roger shifted excitedly. “And this is your son? Felix? Right? Oh you two boys look so much alike, just like twins do.” The policeman cooed. “Of course, you are almost brothers. How can I help you?”

Neither of the boys was too happy about the remark, but they both smiled politely and thanked the man for his kind words.

Adrien took Marinette’s hand while they were entering the lair. He could clearly see the sarcophagus in the distance. The last time he saw it was last night, (but in another time frame) and then it hosted Amelie, but it was supposed to be empty now.

“And then we rushed the sarcophagus through the portal, but when everything was switched back, my mother … the body of my mother … stayed there, in the temple.” Adrien concluded. His voice quivered and he squeezed Marinette’s hand.

Mme Leclerc was there as his legal representative ready to intervene and stop the interview if she only got a hint to do so from her client. Tom and Sabine stood on the side and held each other, the ordeal the teens have been through presented itself.

“Was she alive?” Officer Roger asked as gently as he could. Amelie flinched. Her and Felix were there too, allowed to listen as interested parties. She wanted to know what happened to her sister, she needed to know each detail.

Adrien shrugged.

“We couldn’t tell. The monks took her to examine her. Magic did something to her.” Marinette tried to explain without giving away that Emilie used to wield the peacock miraculous. If Adrien was not ready to admit to that, then they were going to keep quiet about it for as long as feasible.

“So her condition is currently something that could be legally stated as in a coma?” Officer Roger had to fill out a form and magically enchanted was not there because this occurred only temporarily and Ladybug brought everyone back in a matter of hours. Maybe it was time to update the forms?

“Probably yes.” Marinette nodded. It was too painful for Adrien to talk. He stared at the sarcophagus. Amelie hitched a breath, that was actually far better information than she used to have, she imagined her sister was deceased for more than a year.

“Do you know how to open this thing?” Officer Roget asked next. He shifter from one foot to another, uncomfortable in this new position of an interrogating officer, he was used to writing tickets for minor offences, not something too close to murder investigation for his liking.

“We saw it before … “ Marinette trailed off and approached the control buttons. “May I?” She looked at the officer. If Adrien saw that the sarcophagus was empty, was he going to feel better? She had to try, besides, she wanted to see for herself. She cautiously pressed a button.

One cover on the device slid to the sides and the transparent cover remained. The sarcophagus was empty. Adrien sighed with relief. Amelie looked at the empty space, she took a few steps forward and put her hands on the transparent surface, that was the place where her sister used to lay.

“Good, we intend to invite Ladybug and Chat Noir to investigate and let us know about any findings, magical or not, that could explain the condition of your mother. If we had her body here to examine and see for ourselves, it would have been much better … “ Officer Roger rambled.

Adrien shook his head. Amelie gaped, her mouth opened and closed as if she was a fish. It was her sister they were talking about and she wanted to act, she wanted to help her, and her sister was not there, in the basement, but in some temple far away.

“The monks said she had better chances there.” He looked at his aunt. Besides, he learned what the life signs were and his mother had none. If she did breathe and have a heartbeat, his father would not need to hide her body from the world like he did. Anyone who saw her would put her to a grave.

“Let them know … “ Adrien spoke quietly and looked at his legal advisor who was there to act only if Adrien asked her to. “Tell Ladybug and Chat Noir that they have free access to anywhere they want for as long as they want in order to investigate this.”

“Need.” Mme Leclerc, Adrien’s legal representative corrected. “Just change ‘want’ into ‘need’ and it’s fine.” She patted the boy on the shoulder and praised him for his bravery to face all that and try to make some sense.

Officer Roger made a note.

“Good.” The man concluded. “We have one more witness to examine and as the only remaining person from this household, I’d like for you and your legal representative to stay while we listen to what Lila Rossi has to tell us.”

Adrien flinched at the name. Marinette frowned. She knew that that was the last thing Adrien needed. The boy held her hand firmly and looked at his legal representative, his eyes begged for his emotional support to stay.

“You don’t have to stay, Adrien.” Mme Leclerc offered.

“I want to stay. She is a liar and I have to deal with her myself.” Adrien replied quietly.

A police car brought Lila and her mother to the Agreste mansion.

It was far less dreadful than Adrien expected. Agreste mansion had an electronic database of visitors registered by the camera and he was able to list when Lila came over for a visit, it was that one time when she lied her way in and got Kagami akumatized into Oni Chan.

Adrien let his legal representative do her job and just glanced around his room. The room where all the students slept in the temple was probably the same size. Everything was familiar, but now seemed distant, his bed, his desk, the piano, the sofa and TV and the gaming consoles.

He idly pressed a few keys. It reminded him how much he liked to play and how much he played it with his mother and how the instrument sometimes made his mother’s absence easier and how it made it harder at other time. Then he remembered how his father insisted on his perfect performance and stepped away.

Lila elaborated at length what she did while she was there.

“According to the security data, you were here for twenty minutes.” Officer Roger noted when he was pointed to the data.

“And you came here to learn, but all you did was snoop around.” Adrien retorted. “What were you looking for, anyway?”

“She was always so curious, even as a little girl she always had to open all the cupboards and drawers and check under the bed wherever we went. It was so cute, once we were … “ Mme Rossi was talking.

“Your daughter is not a toddler any more.” Mme Leclerc replied calmly as if this was supposed to be a new piece of information to Mme Rossi about her daughter, and considering her surprised expression, perhaps it was.

“And that kind of behaviour in teenagers is hardly cute.” Adrien muttered.

“Good, then that’s settled, we can go.” Officer Roger noted.

“No, what about Gabriel’s office?” Lila protested.

“When have you been in his office?” Adrien demanded.

“When we made the deal!” She replied slyly. Her mother nudged her. Lila schooled herself. “Ahem, when we made a contract for our photo shoot.” Lila fluttered her eyelashes.

“As far as I know, you were here just that one time.” Adrien retorted.

“We have no record of you entering.” Roger muttered. “Perhaps the records were tampered with.”

“It is possible.” Mme Leclerc noted. “Mme Rossi, have you been here to co-sign the contract since Mlle Rossi is a minor? Have you approved her socializing with an adult and visiting him? Have you approved their meet ups that have been found by police on his records?”

Adrien knew that his legal representative was used to representing minors, but at that moment he wondered just whom was she representing there, him or Lila?

“We only have a copy of the contract that we got from Gabriel’s database.” Officer Roger produced a set of papers clamped together.

“That signature on the contract is not mine, that is a forgery.” Mme Rossi stated.

“Oh, I have no idea how it got there. Monsieur Gabriel Agreste arranged for that.” Lila placed a hand over her chest and shook her head lightly. 

“Very well, in that case I do not need to bother to cut this contract.” Amelie smirked.

“But you can’t, I am the face of the brand … Adrien and me … “ She tried to latch on the boy.

Felix smirked and looked rather self satisfied.

“I will have a look into this.” Mme Rossi snatched a copy of a contract, took her daughter’s hand and pulled her away before the girl degraded herself even more.

A large white limo drove over and parked on the side. Major Bourgeois looked at its arrival reluctantly while his wife got out followed by his rather determined daughter. It was obvious that the man dreaded what was coming next.

“I believe the city of Paris had seized Gabriel’s assets and the mayor of Paris has something to say in this.” Chloe recited as she stomped over and pulled her father along. The man was big and heavy, but the heiress was surprisingly strong.

“Dear, come on dear, this is Adrien’s home and that is his dear aunt Amelie … “ The man muttered protests to his daughter. The man turned towards Amelie with a huge smile, the same that graced billboards before elections.

Adrien rolled his eyes.

Felix smirked.

“We do have the right to take any personal belongings if it is not tampering with the legal investigation.” Amelie countered with a polite smile with just the right amount of teeth showing but it was obvious she was ready to bite.

“Very well.” Chloe crossed her arms. “It is up to Adrien, he is the only one who actually lived here and might have some personal belongings inside.” Then she eyed Felix once more. “Although it seems you helped yourself to that too.”

“Chloe, I don’t care. If Felix wants to use some of my things, he is welcome to it. I just do not want him to pretend to be me and hurt my friends.” Adrien cut in. The atmosphere felt electrified with an impending conflict.

“Chloe, darling, everyone. Adrien and Marinette are our civilian heroes, it is only fair that we let them have whatever they need from the mansion, in fact, if you really want to live here, it might be arranged.” The man offered the last words to Amelie.

“What do you mean? This is the home of my sister too.” Amelie protested. “What do you mean ‘it might be arranged’. I planned to live here while I take care of the family business.” And she held hopes to get her sister back too.

“Actually, this building is not personal family property, it was purchased as an investment of Gabriel’s company so it belongs to his business assets and is seized along with the other of his businesses.” Mme Leclerc clarified.

“And since Graham de Vanily family is the first and the largest investor in the company, that means the mansion actually belongs to me.” Amelie retorted, her body assumed a defensive stance although she continued to speak in a pleasing voice.

“Can we move in today, mother?” Felix cut in. He made a show of the contempt at Chloe and how annoyed he was as well as how much he wanted to move out from Le Grand Paris, he smirked when he noticed her reaction to his words.

“No, definitely not before the police investigation is finished, darling.” Amelie smiled gently to her son and stroked his cheek. That made him to pretend to be hurt for not moving away while he checked Chloe’s reaction again.

Both teens started to enjoy each other’s company in their own way, by bickering and mocking each other the whole time they interacted, they found pleasure in making the other annoyed and the fact that they lived at the same place threw them together more often.

“The city of Paris intends to hold onto all Gabriel’s possessions for as long as the trial takes place as well as imminent prison sentence. I expect to be put in charge of the fashion company as an expert in the field.” Audrey announced with a tone that showed she thought this was all a waste of time.

“Well, his clothing brand is his largest asset and it would not have been possible without Emilie as his artistic inspiration and the business assistance I provided … “ Amelie suggested.

“Your business assistance would have been useless without my artistic leadership, advice and good critique.” Audrey scoffed.

“Let me remind you that the business is running under the patronage of the city of Paris that helpfully allows usage of our magnificent venues whenever it is needed for any event organized by the brand.” Mayor Bourgeois warned.

“I am representing the largest share holder in his businesses and I am acting on behalf of my sister and his wife and I should warn you that if my family retracts from businesses it will cease to be financially viable.” Amelie warned.

Adrien did not care. His father spent his life obsessed with the business, the boy was the face of the brand and had to live up to the image, which alienated him from his peers, the man made the boy stay at home!

Officer Roger was hardly able to follow the conversation, mayor Bourgeois was his boss and the man did what his boss told him to. But this time even the mayor was standing to the side and let his wife and Amelie have their argument.

Felix snickered and Chloe made herself look taller and more important as she stood by her mother. Audrey was authoritative in her speech while Amelie sounded happy and gentle although she was fighting a verbal battle.

“Well, I represent Adrien’s legal interests.” Mme Leclerc stated sternly. That made all other adults quiet and attentive. Felix and Chloe still had their own battle with eyes, facial expressions as well as positions of their arms.

“According to the French law, he can take whatever he wants from this house although the house itself belongs to the company.” The legal representative stated calmly. She observed the adults around her. Mayor Bourgeois was without expression, Audrey scoffed and Amelie beamed.

“As Emilie’s sister, right now I merely want a few items that represent Graham de Vanily family heritage.” Her face showed the same expression her sister always had in add campaigns, just like Adrien did, they really looked like family.

“I’d like you to keep in mind that that would be Adrien’s family heritage too.” Mme Leclerc replied firmly.

“I believe Adrien wants to know what happened to his mother just as much as I do and that is my first and foremost priority. Therefore I demand access to the premisses to explore any clues left by my sister.” Amelie insisted.

As much as Amelie pushed it to the back of her mind, as much as she ignored it, ans much as she willingly forgot about that tiny detail, she knew she needed that other ring and to learn all the fuzzy details on what Emilie did, because of Felix and how he was born.

The argument soon escalated to the point when Amelie threatened to withdraw from the business and force the business into bankruptcy, while Audrey insisted on her own terms in running the fashion empire.

Felix and Chloe made it a point to look utterly bored, unimpressed and disinterested. Adrien, on the other hand, was distressed, not because they talked about his family finances, but because of the argument itself.

“But!” Marinette cut in. “Wouldn’t it be better for Paris if you transformed the business into something new? A new brand?” She looked at Amelie. “New style?” She looked at Audrey. “You would keep the business running under a new name, for Paris?” She looked at mayor Bourgeois.

That earned several nods and hums of approval from all present adults.

“The three of you together could create a new brand and devote it to Emily?” Marinette pleaded. “And new hopes and beginnings?” She looked at the people around.

“I would definitely support that idea.” Mme Leclerc was looking at Adrien while she spoke and he smiled and nodded that he did agree.

“Making something positive out of all this negativity, I like that.” Amelie hummed.

“New line, new style, new brand!” Audrey exclaimed. “We have work to do!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the plot line of 'and MArinette saves the day' turned out rather stupid, I know


	20. Getting Back

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pema and Dorje try to get back what they lost.  
> And a glimpse into the life of new family founders.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is more about the origins of the family than about the two monks but ...

Getting Back

Pema and Dorje followed Therese and Oliver back to the same small hotel where they got robbed in the first place. They would have followed the other couple inside through the main gates, but were stopped by a man at the door who demanded an entrance fee.

Therefore, they resorted to sneaking back inside in other ways. They circled the house and soon separated. Pema climbed a tree next to the hotel while Dorje went inside the house. She watched where Oliver stashed the glasses and the choker.

The couple in the room got busy with each other and Pema crawled to the end of the branch, she was hanging by the branches to make them hang lower and reached the window. She sneaked her arm inside and grabbed the leather bag where the jewels were stashed.

Dorje was sneaking around the hotel, but the staff was already awake and on their feet and even some of the guests appeared out from their rooms. It did not take long before he was noticed. He was cornered in the large room and examined in languages he did not understand.

Pema jumped from the branches and landed on the soft grass below. She hid the leather bag below her robes and sneaked her hand inside. She felt for different objects, but then she found the glasses and the choker, pulled them out and hid in a pocket inside her robes.

Dorje was not coming out from the house and she began to worry. It was taking him too much time, he must have gotten caught. He probably went for the rings, something she intended to do later and only if the couple got in deep sleep and they managed to sneak into their room.

Then someone yelled ‘robbery’, it was not even from the room of the couple, but she took no chances. Pema put the choker back around her neck and transformed into a dragon hero. She walked into the house holding her sword, grabbed Dorje and jumped out from the window.

The staff and a guest or two simply gaped at her and did not even try to question what she was doing there nor what she was. Her sword in one hand combined with her magic suit and the mask on her face was sufficient.

She ran holding Dorje in her arms and looked for a safe spot for them to hide. The city was bustling with life, there were people everywhere and it was really hard to find a place to hide. Everyone who saw her thought she was some kind of a daemon who came there to destroy the city.

She finally found an empty attic where they could hide from the outside world and stopped her wild run. Dorje was quiet and towered over her once she put him on his own two feet, but his head hang low, he felt like he failed.

“I also have the horse miraculous.” She detransformed, smiled and took out the glasses. That brought smile back on his face. So she saved both miraculous all on her own, and him, while all he did was that he got caught sneaking around the halls.

“Apparently you also took something from them!” Dorje hugged her fiercely and felt the leather bag under her robes, she blushed and extracted the bag. They opened it and examined the contents together, it mostly contained papers.

“You didn’t get the rings?” He sounded disappointed but then he realized what he just said. “Of course, they were wearing the rings I didn’t mean for you to … “ He blushed and stammered and pulled his head between his shoulders. It should have been him who fought for the rings.

“These documents, they must be worth something.” She pondered. “Perhaps we could get our rings back in exchange for these.” If she was able to negotiate anything without being subjected to that awful think she consumed last night.

Now she knew that the substance had an effect one her, because she never would have gotten robbed if she wasn’t under some kind of influence. She knew how different teas made her feel better, more awake or drowsy, but this was far worse.

“We are not negotiating with them again.” Dorje stated clearly. “We negotiated last night and it did not bring us any good.” He felt guilty for that too. He let her do the talking, because he couldn’t do it himself, and then he fell asleep instead of protecting her.

“What do you suggest we do then?” Pema put her hands on her hips. She could not help but feel slightly hurt by his comment. What if she was so bad at trade? It is not like she did well last night. She never remembered any details.

“Perhaps we should just transform, march in there and take our rings.” He crossed his arms. He regretted losing the rings more because they were magical and shared the bond between the two of them than because of their worth in precious metal.

“We are not supposed to use our miraculous for selfish reasons.” Pema reminded him. “I only used mine to save you, not to steal this, I did not even have it back then.” She touched the miraculous around her neck thoughtfully.

“She is right, using the miraculous for selfish reasons like that is one step towards abusing your powers.” Longg warned. “You, my honourable master did well to save your brother in arms, but you should not aim it at stealing or revenge.”

“We are their masters.” Dorje whispered to Pema as if Kaalki and Longg were not able to hear him anyway. “They have to do what we tell them to. And we would be only taking back our rings, we can even return this bag and not steal anything else.”

“But the guardian would know, master Dolma is going to learn about this, eventually, and so is master Tenzin, our teacher.” Pema whispered back. “I already feel bad about messing this up so badly, I don’t want to make it even worse.”

“Okay, we do it your way, we’ll go back and negotiate.” Dorje frowned. “We left that device and opium in their hotel anyway. Do they have some coins in there that could buy us food? It is not stealing if we left them something in return?”

Apparently it had a vast amount of coins and the two monks took a few and purchased some food and tea from a street vendor and slowly returned to the scene of the crime. They climbed the same tree to spy the hotel room where the couple was when Pema stole the bag.

“You have ruined my daughter.” A fat middle aged man with a crooked grey wig and make up wearing a flashy man’s clothes was shouting. He was completely red in the face and his fists were clenched while he shook in rage.

“We are married, father.” Theresa answered. “We are husband and wife.” Her tone and statement was definite, it was done and whatever her father’s rage produced right now, she was a married woman and to the man by her side, not the one her father chose for her.

“We are madame and monsieur Graham de Vanily now.” Oliver added cheerfully with a huge grin on his face, genuinely happy, blushed because his father in law burst into his room, he held his young wife to his side protectively ready to face the man’s wrath.

“You dared to take my name.” The man shouted. He was so angry when he learned what happened that he stormed into the young man’s room and there was nothing that he would react at with anything short of shouting and yelling.

“It is not like you have a son to continue the line father.” Therese shot back. She despised her own father from the moment when she learned what his intentions were, so she hit where it hurt the most and reminded the man that he never fathered a son.

“No, your mother had given me just six useless daughters like you!” The man retaliated. “And you are the youngest and the worst of them all!” The man was livid, his bloodshot eyes stared at her, he spat while he shouted and his fists trembled.

“You asked me to join you on this journey so you would not miss your family at home, premissed me to ‘see the world’ and waited for us to be almost here before you revealed that you wanted me to marry your old friend Rufus and leave me here.” She was quiet but menacing.

The man would have continued to shout, but he was too busy catching his breath, the clothes felt too tight on him, he was hyperventilating and angry and had no control over his own actions, let alone the daughter he wanted under his thumb.

“I’m not doing that. Marlene went to convent not to marry the man you chose for her, I wanted to go to the harbour, jump off the ship and drown in the sea, but Oliver here persuaded me not to.” Therese was crying while she spoke, but she was determined to finish her speech.

Pema whispered to Dorje and explained what the trio in the room was talking about. The two monks started to feel sorry for the young woman. But that did not justify the theft, they could have married without stealing the rings, for sure.

The old man took a seat from his shaky legs. His own daughter disobeyed him and caused his rage, but the things she just said, that she would rather die than marry a man he wanted, that shook him to his core.

“Sir, I’m sorry to go behind your back on this. I have nothing but respect for you.” Oliver dared to speak. The old man glared back but kept silent. “I married you daughter and I would take her even if she had nothing. I have a job, she will not go hungry.”

“Don’t say that, he had a deal with Rufus, I’m sure he is more concerned about the deal than me. Oliver is young and clever tradesman, father, he has a business proposal, you should listen to him.” Therese spoke. Oliver looked at her in a ‘let me speak’ kind of way.

“And I waited until we got married, in church, we were there this morning, you can check, and I do have the marriage certificate in my bag.” He was well aware that the bag and the marriage certificate were not where he left them.

“Yes father, we did it. Now you can behave as if I was a disgrace to the family, which I wasn’t, or we can pretend Oliver and me fell in love and got married, which is true. Which option is better for the family reputation, what do you think?” She demanded.

“It is still early. Why don’t you think about this? Perhaps I could help you with whatever the business deal you had with your friend Rufus. We can talk about it later, over dinner.” Oliver proposed. Therese glared at him at the mention of her almost future husband.

“You are right, we are going to talk about this over dinner.” The old man relented, he released a long breath and then another one and his face slowly reduced back to the unhealthy pale coolour form the red rage, then he got up and walked to the door.

“Thank you father.” Therese replied quietly, she trembled from the whole ordeal.

“Thank you sir.” Oliver had a huge grin on his face again, he was getting his chance.

Then older man suddenly turned around.

“I guess it is meaningless to be paying for your room in this establishment from now on, move your things over here, I’m cancelling, unless your husband wants to pay for it?” He was back, the tradesman who always thought of his costs and profit.

The young couple instantly recognized that particular reaction as his final acceptance of their marriage so they cheered and hugged each other while the old man slowly let himself out from the room and closed the door behind him.

“Why didn’t you discuss the business deal right now?” Therese asked quietly. She felt like they lost a chance while they were on a good track, since her father accepted them.

“My deal was on sheets of paper together with may documents in the leather bag that went missing. I can’t find it anywhere. The last time I saw it was when I put those glasses and the choker inside.” He frowned.

“Hey.” Pema called from the tree in front of the window without thinking about it twice. “We have your bag and we are willing to exchange it for your rings.” It looked like a perfect moment to make the exchange and everyone would go their separate ways.

Oliver jumped to the window and saw the two monks who were huddled a tree and slightly hidden by the leaves. His heart was beating quickly, his bag, his documents, the marriage certificate, everything was in that bag held by a monk on a tree.

“You robbed us so it is fair exchange.” Pema added. She wanted it done, she expected it to be an easy exchange, his bag for their rings, plain and simple, they were able to do this in a minute, right through that window, only a few moves.

“No, not in this world.” Oliver grinned. He looked around for a moment. The streets were full of people, everyone in the house was up an awake and as active as they could be. Pema felt he gut sink, she failed again, but she had no idea what was coming next.

“Thieves!” He shouted. “Thieves!” He turned to the other side to alert as many people as he could. Then he grinned at the tree again. “We can’t return the rings now, these are our wedding rings, darling.” Oliver whispered to his wife.

Pema and Dorje had to run, there were soldiers in white trousers and red coats everywhere who looked for them. They finally escaped to the relative safety of temporarily unused attic they used to hide the first time. They could see and hear soldiers outside.

“We should wait until they get tired or have someone else to search for.” Pema whispered. “That man needs this bag before the dinner tonight, we can try again in a few hours.” Dorje was not so certain that their next attempt was going to end up any better.

By that evening, even the soldiers dressed in blue were looking for the two young monks. Dorje could understand them. They waited for the dark to settle. Pema gave the last stash of food she had for Longg, she had to get more and the two monks could not walk around freely.

They sneaked back to the same hotel. Pema knew that Oliver was going to be willing to trade, he wanted that bag with papers as much as they wanted the rings back. They climbed the same tree in the darkness. Pema approached the window and knocked, Dorje remained hidden behind.

Oliver opened the window and they discussed quietly in hushed tones. It looked like they reached a deal and Pema agreed to enter the room. The next second, Therese snatched the bag while Oliver held a knife to Pema’s throat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for this cliffhanger but it made so much sense to just stop at this moment.  
> (You do know they are going to be okay, right?)


	21. Diaries

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ladybug and Chat Noir do their own research.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess what they find?  
> You have one try.

Diaries

It was a late hour, already dark in the evening. Ladybug and Chat Noir sat on a rooftop opposite the Agreste mansion. Ladybug stood on her feet, her yoyo in her hand, ready to go, but Chat Noir sat down and his tail flipped left and right nervously.

“You got us clearance to do this, I thought you wanted to go in and explore, why do you stall?” Ladybug inquired and looked at Chat Noir with worried eyes. “I can do it alone if you want.”

“Nothing, it’s just, we are going to show them aren’t we?” He asked timidly. “We, I mean us … “ He pointed his claw to his chest. “Ladybug and Chat Noir, the superheroes, we are going to show them all about the peacock miraculous and my mother.”

“I don’t have to show them anything if you don’t want me to, besides, it is probably better for all if they don’t know, we learned that in another timeline.” She replied gently. “We can always say that what Hawk Moth said during the battle in the temple was his own construction.”

“Actually, let’s just ask them for more time to explore the mansion and whatever Emilie left behind her, then we can see for ourselves what just happened and then we decide what we can report to the authorities as well as my aunt.” He shook his head.

“You are probably right.” Ladybug shrugged. “Let’s go.” She threw her yoyo. It was getting late and they were losing precious time. This time Bunnix will not let them to catch up on their sleep, and they still had school in the morning.

Officer Roger and mayor Bourgeois were more than happy to let the two superheroes go through the vast building on their own, its vast hallways looked even more threatening in the night and with the history of its owner, nobody was thrilled to explore it.

“So, where do you want to start? Your room?” Ladybug asked quietly once they were alone in the huge house. Its interior was designed with a purpose to impress and intimidate so it was not particularly welcoming in the evening.

“No, I can do that during the day.” He shook his head. “And I will get copies of all the hard drives and cloud locations where the data is stored for Markov to process.”

“Okay, so Nathalie’s office?” Ladybug asked tentatively.

“Okay.” Chat accepted mostly to postpone the inevitable.

“I don’t think there is anything in here.” She noticed after only several minutes of search.

“The police had been through all this anyway.” Chat shrugged.

“Gabriel’s office?” Ladybug proposed next.

“Yeah. But, let’s go through the living room first.” He proposed.

“This is that porcelain that Amelie gushed about.” She whispered and looked at the glass display.

“Yes, I don’t remember we ever used it.” Chat admitted.

“So, do we open it and search further or we go to the office?” She asked next.

“The office.” Because honestly, Chat was scared of what he was about to find.

Once they were in front of the office door, they faced their first obstacle. It was locked. Chat smirked, spread the claws on his right hand and inhaled but Ladybug put her hand over his mouth to silence him.

“I know you’d enjoy this but don’t call for your power, I’ll have to fix everything back anyway.” She noted. Chat deflated but relented. They both detransformed and let the kwami unlock the door.

“Files on the shelves, files in the computer, the drawers … all searched by police I guess.” Marinette sighed.

“Let’s look at the safe.” Adrien proposed.

Plagg phased inside and the door got unlocked just like the first time.

“Well, looks like my father cleared it up before he left.” Adrien noted. Even the hotel pamphlets were gone. “Looks like there is not much to find here, actually.” The boy sighed with relief.

“Well, this is a large house, there are more places to look. What about your father’s bedroom?” Marinette suggested. “If my parents want something hidden, they place it there.”

“Like gifts for your birthdays or Christmas?” Adrien inquired with a happy smile. “As you can see, my parents had no issues in hiding stuff from me.”

“Come on, have you ever sneaked up in their room and went through their things?” She inquired with a glint in her eyes.

“No, never. And you?” He asked sheepishly.

“How do you think I learned about tampons and sanitary pads?” She snickered. But then she blushed. “And my birthday present was actually hidden in one of those boxes.” She had to add.

They reached the master bedroom. It was locked again, automatically, just like most of the doors in the mansion. Tikki took the honours to unlock it this time and they entered.

“I don’t remember when I was here.” Adrien admitted. “I know I was, but it was years ago. My mum was … still around.” It was obvious the memories and feelings were crushing onto the boy and Marinette hugged him. He felt better.

“Plagg, Tikki, would you mind phasing through the bed and underneath to see if there is anything worth looking for?” Marinette asked quietly while she kept holding the boy. Tikki floated away and almost phased into the bed when she noticed that Plagg wasn’t following.

“Kid, this is an awkward thing to ask, but Gabriel and Nathalie were rather close. I don’t want to stumble into … something … they might have used here.” Plagg spoke quietly and observed the boy carefully.

It was hard to tell who blushed more, Adrien or Marinette. They split apart and looked at the large bed as if it was threatening.

“Got you!” The tiny black cat like kwami cackled and floated over to the bed.

“Plagg!” Adrien groaned. Marinette rolled her eyes and looked away to hide her blush.

The two teens went through the drawers.

“There is nothing in here.” Adrien noticed. Spare reading glasses, a book, pens and paper, a phone charger …

“Gabriel is booooring.” Plagg whined while he floated around in circles. “Even his stuff is arranged according to his impeccable taste.”

“It looks like the things here are laid as your mother left them.” Marinette noted as she went through the drawer. She turned around a few things, including feminine hygiene products and then stumbled on an item that Alya sometimes mentioned, and blushed.

“Oops, looks like pigtails had better luck.” Plagg teased.

“Leave them alone Plagg!” Tikki groaned.

Marinette quickly shut the drawer and hid her red face. There was no need for Adrien to see that. She did not need to see that. Nobody needed to see that.

“Leave them alone, okay, I’m going to search for any cheese remains then.” Plagg teased and floated away.

“No, come back Plagg.” Adrien called. “We still need you to open up anything that’s locked.”

“Come on, you have Tikki for that.” He whined.

“No Plagg, you are going to help just like the rest of us.” Adrien frowned.

Marinette bravely opened the door that lead to a huge bathroom, not much larger than Adrien’s, but everything looked even more luxurious. She opened a few cabinets, there were towels, plenty of skin and haircare products.

“This is a man’s bathroom, they removed her things from here.” She noticed.

Adrien walked inside while Marinette got back to the master bedroom to try another door. This lead to another bathroom, but there she noticed hair brushes and make up and a chair and a vanity and whatever she could imagine being used.

“Your parents had separate bathrooms?” Marinette inquired.

“Oh, I think they did, my mother mentioned that sometimes, maybe?” He shrugged.

“Where does this door lead to?” Marinette stood in front of a shiny surface that might be a door and might be a piece of decoration.

“I think that is just a piece of decoration.” Adrien shrugged. “Come on, let’s check the wardrobe.

Unsurprisingly, they found two walk in closets, one for Gabriel and another for Emilie.

“Considering the size and the amount of stuff they have in here, they might have had four wardrobes. This is bigger than my room.” Marinette exclaimed and expected to hear an echo.

Gabriel’s wardrobe was surprisingly dull. Lines after lines of suits with barely noticeable differences between them. The lines of shoes that looked so similar that it took Marinette’s trained eyes to notice differences in designs and then there were vests and shirts, all alike.

“No wonder Gabriel always looked the same.” Plagg noted.

“I did not expect his wardrobe to be so … dull? Monotonous?” Marinette frowned. This was suspiciously without any variety. “I mean, all this pieces are elegant, but still … “

“I’m certain my father used to wear clothes that were different than this, but … I don’t remember, I’ll have to look for the old family photos.” He glanced around.

“Yes, that’s what’s missing. The old family albums, my parents keep some of them in a wardrobe in their bedroom.” She noted.

“Everyone in films keep them in their bedroom.” Adrien snickered. “But not my parents, these albums are locked up somewhere in the living room. They showed them to the guests to impress them.”

And then they stumbled upon a safe, somewhat hidden behind a layer of suits.

“Tikki, would you do the honours?” Marinette asked with a smile.

“Yes, Marinette.” Tikki phased into the safe and it was open in an instant.

“This is a collection of father’s watches, pins and cufflinks.” Adrien noted. He stared at the boxes with neatly arranged items that were elegant and very similar in shape and size.

Marinette looked at the items and admired their design and making.

“I guess he was wearing only one pin lately.” Adrien chuckled nervously and pushed the boxes back inside.

Marinette pushed them back out. It was a tray with black velvet and rows upon rows of cufflinks and tie needles and matching pins. She passed her hand over them as if she expected to feel something, but then she frowned. She took another tray, this one was with watches.

“What are you looking for?” Adrien inquired.

“I don’t know, I just have this strange feeling … “ She trailed off.

“I also had a strange feeling, it makes me want to shove it back inside, close it, lock it up and walk away.” He replied quietly.

Something rattled in the tray and Marinette looked again.

“There are several rings in this box.” She noted.

“These look exactly like the wedding rings my parents were wearing.” He noted.

“But … is this what Amelie was looking for?” Marinette asked quietly.

“Let’s return them back in the safe, she can have them.” Adrien shook his head. “Wait … Hawk Moth mentioned … that my mother used a ring to create Felix?”

They both felt cold shivers go down their spines.

“Okay, maybe, but which one?” Marinette wondered. “There are two.”

“We could take both and then see?” Adrien proposed.

“We need Duusu for that. I would have to transform, I think.” She was reluctant.

Adrien simply snatched the rings and put them into his pocket.

“We are keeping them safe until we find out what they are.” He explained.

“And what do we want to do with them if one of them indeed hosts the amok that helped create your cousin.” Marinette smiled gently.

None of them had the determination to face Felix as a sentimonster let alone to destroy him.

“You know, I think we should keep him.” She spoke quietly after they locked up the safe. “If we destroy him and I run the Ladybug magic, I might change too many things.”

Adrien just looked at her carefully.

“You’re right, we have to be careful. Besides, he is rather awake, he is not dormant like that piece of stone in the Louvre.” Adrien teased. “And aunt Amelie sees him as her own child.” Not to mention that he still saw Felix as his cousin.

“Yeah, but I don’t know how the sentimonster from the Louvre became dormant. Was it because the amok was discarded … wait … it ate the item.” She shrugged.

They walked into Amelie’s wardrobe, there were rows of dresses and skirts and blouses and shoes and suits and jackets and coats and Marinette forgot how to breathe.

“I think these are collections that are kept for safe keeping not just their private wardrobes.” Adrien shrugged. “At least they removed clothes that were too small for me from my wardrobe.”

Marinette stood in Emilie’s wardrobe and admired, the fashion designer in her was on cloud nine.

“I could move in here and never get out, just look at all this stuff.” She admired and took a step forward.

“I don’t remember my mother ever wore any of this.” Adrien admitted.

“I’m scared to go further, what if I find Narnia in the back?” She teased.

“I will protect you.” He snickered. “Let’s go!”

The excitement of going through all those clothes kept them busy for quite some time until Adrien stumbled upon a safe.

“Of course, your mother probably kept her jewellery there.” Marinette shrugged. “Look, there is that same decorative panel. I’m sure it is the door that leads here.”

“It makes sense.” Adrien noted and motioned for Plagg to open. And indeed, they could enter the bathroom they assumed belonged to Emilie.

“Look, there are stairs, there is a gallery!” Marinette exclaimed. And indeed there was a set of winding stairs and when they climbed they found more clothes. And behind them there were some boxes, a bookshelf, a writing table.

Marinette opened drawers in the writing table. There were pens and paper, envelopes, cards and other items. She took out one drawer completely and sneaked her hand in the hole. And then she found a set of small keys.

“I bet these open up something interesting.” She smiled.

Adrien positively beamed.

“Did your mother have a diary?” She smiled and looked at the keys. “Or plenty of them.” She counted them with her fingers.

“I hope so.” He grinned. “Reading her diaries would bring me closer to her, and get to know her better and perhaps I would understand why … she did any of the things she did.”

“Well then. let’s try and find what these keys unlock.” She put the keys in her clutch bag and they faced the boxes. They opened the first one.

“These are definitely diaries, but really old ones.” Marinette noted. “Look, this one is from someone named Oliver Graham and it is dated from two centuries ago.”

“This one is from Therese de Vanily.” Adrien pointed to another.

“Looks like the two got married, see?” Marinette opened the next fancy notebook and pointed to the name. It was Therese Graham de Vanily.

“So that is how they started, two families into one.” Adrien noted.

They looked at the numerous old notebooks in the box.

“I want to read these. This is my family history.” Adrien spoke quietly.

Marinette opened another box and there were just some random items.

Then they opened another and there were some really old clothes.

She returned to the box with the diaries.

“These belong to different people, but they span through more than a century.” Adrien smiled. He found several old photographs and albums.

“Perhaps not all family albums are stored in your living room?” Marinette teased.

“No, just the nuclear family. Apparently these belong to my ancestors. Well, my mother’s ancestors.” Adrien corrected himself.

“No wonder Amelie wants them.” Marinette smiled. “It feels unfair to just take them.”

“Wait, there is a device in Nathalie’s office that scans books, perhaps we could use it?” Adrien proposed.

“Good, we could do that.” Marinette nodded and yawned. They took the diaries and the photo albums, apparently Nathalie was well equipped and they progressed rather quickly. The documents were scanned, copied and stored back where they found them.

“Perhaps we should go home, it is almost midnight.” Adrien looked at his girlfriend. “We do have school in the morning and Ladybug and Chat Noir can return and investigate further whenever they want.” He winked.

They covered the box beneath other boxes and decided to return the next evening. Marinette circled the small writing table. She felt its sides and the bottom. It hosted two thin drawers that they searched and she did find those keys once she pulled one drawer out.

“Maybe … “ She took out the set of keys and looked at a small hole, she tried several keys until one of them turned and she could slide the bottom to the side. Three fancy diaries fell out from the hidden compartment as she removed the bottom that held them in place.

“You found them.” Adrien was on his knees and collected the diaries. There was nothing written on them but he somehow knew. He held them closer to his chest and inhaled. And then he sneezed because of the dust. But he was holding his mother’s diaries.

“We are taking these with us.” Marinette stated.

Then they both transformed and found a window that they left unlocked and memorized where to enter the next time they needed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kids got themselves some literature.


	22. Getting Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The two Tibetan monks fight with Therese and Oliver.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The situation gets resolved ...

Getting Home

Dorje transformed and jumped inside, several precise kicks and Pema was free, but he did not go for the rings, magical connection or not, he preferred Pema alive and well. Dorje jumped on the rooftop, called for his power and created a portal.

“Wait, go down there, you can still get the rings.” Pema whispered..

“No, they are just rings, they are not worth of risking your life.” He replied and shook his head.

“But they are magical, they bound us together, I want them because of you.” She whispered. They did not profess their love for each other, especially not in a romantic way, they were simply thrown together by fate.

“It is not the rings that bind us, jewels don’t do that, it is our love that keeps us together.” He replied and held her gently overwhelmed by what she just said, it wasn’t just because they got to fight the same fights, she wanted to be with him.

In the meantime, a European couple got to the roof by a hatch door determined th chase away the two monks who kept crossing their paths. Dorje took Pema and jumped through the portal. Oliver and Therese followed through.

The sun did not set yet when they arrived on the high plains, the portal lead them to the valley just below the temple. The familiar surroundings made them both feel relieved and somehow lighter, they were back home.

“I did not dare to take us all the way to the cave.” Dorje spoke, still transformed. “I don’t have too much experiences using this power and I would rather walk a little.” He admitted while he observed the surroundings with a huge smile on his face.

“They followed us.” Pema warned and Dorje had to grab her and run away in quick and long jumps because Oliver and Therese were going after them. “What else do they want from us.” Pema wondered while she looked back at the other couple.

“What kind of a devil are you?” Therese screamed at Dorje who was transformed in a horse themed hero and leaped away from them in long jumps from one rock to another as he wanted to reach the safety of the cliffs.

“I don’t know, but I’m getting it.” Oliver ran for an attack, he had his sabre as well as his pistol and he knew that Therese had a small dagger and a ladies pistol. The cold weapons were probably more useful and he was far more skilful with the sabre, at least in practise.

“Why are we going after them, again?” Therese asked while she stumbled over rocks in the shoes that were meant for fine salons. She would have been much faster if she wasn’t dressed up for dinner.

“They would have never left us alone, I had to chase them away.” Oliver muttered between breaths while he ran and pulled Therese along. “but now I want to know who is that monster who took that monk away ans what kind of power is that.”

“Don’t you think we chased them away sufficiently.” Therese noted and motioned with her hand around them. She stopped and turned around more and more amazed by the place they just stumbled into. “Where are we?” She added in awe.

“I don’t know.” Oliver admitted while he admired the high mountain peaks he could see in the distance. “Definitely not the harbour city we just left.” He looked around once more. “We have to fetch those two to bring us back. We have a dinner to go to.”

Dorje knew his transformation was going to wear off, he had little time left, so he grabbed Pema and ran towards the cliff where he climbed as far as he could and found a safe place to detransform without being seen from the valley.

Pema had a few scratched and bruises and Dorje insisted to carry her up on the path all the way to the temple. They entered and greeted their fellow monks, they talked about what happened and dressed her wounds.

“You are right, you do not need the rings, you have that special connection even without the rings on your hands.” Tenzin spoke gently. “We should let them keep the rings, they would need them on their way back, because we are not giving them the ride that took them here.”

There was a glint of mischief in the old man’s eyes while he stroked his beard and explained his logic. He listened to the tale of opium and the evils that people committed just to get their next fix. The old man had seen enough not to be particularly surprised.

“Take this tea, it shall clean you of any residual effects. You will take this tea each day until you start to feel better, but you can continue in the future.” Dolma advised quietly. “You were too young and too inexperienced for such a mission.”

“We trained you in the ways of magic, but you have no training in the ways of men.” Tenzin added. “You do not know how to deal with liars and cheaters, with people who would steal or kill, who would trick you any way they know just to have what they want.”

Two young monks had their dinner with the rest of the group that lived in the temple and then they were sent off to rest. The security of the temple and the support they received from the elders made them feel better more than any herbal remedy could.

Later that evening, a European couple asked for shelter in the temple. They were ready to pay silver and gold for shelter and a warm meal. They noticed how the monks were all wearing the same robes as the two they took the rings from so they hid the rings.

They tried to ask questions, but the other monks did not understand them, or pretended not to, so they never learned anything about the way they reached that high plain and the temple. Monks already knew their story from Dorje and Pema and were not asking for more.

The next day, Olver and Therese realized that the only way to reach back to the harbour they started from was by land and were sent off to find local nomads and purchase more food and perhaps a horse or a yak from them to continue their journey.

“It will take them at least a month to reach that city again, they can board a ship once they reach the river.” Tenzin explained to the two young monks. “But it will be a long and treacherous journey and it should teach them a lesson.

“We should tell the world about this place and what happened to us. Just imagine what a sensation that would be.” Therese spoke while they walked over the high plains and looked for a path that would take them to the large city about a week of walk away.

“We shall do no such thing.” Oliver retorted. He fiddled with his ring and stared at his new wife. “Nobody would believe us and if we insist that it is true, they would commit us as crazy.” He sighed. She nodded that she understood. “This is going to be our little secret.”

That evening they sought and found shelter with a family of nomads. In exchange for a few coins they got soup and blankets. The next morning they traded some more and got food, shoes, clothes and a horse to carry their stuff over the plains.

Oliver was worried, the funds they had were scarce, both of them had a bag ov coins aimed to sustain their life in the harbour city, but now they had to purchase many things including their means of transport, and people were reluctant to trade necessities they needed themselves.

Therese insisted on writing everything down in a notebook she always carried with her, she was determined to sketch the scenery and note each place they went through, she tried to draw it like a map to the lost treasure, or in this case, a temple hidden in the mountains.

Oliver offered his services as a salesman to purchase things from the nomads he could sell at a market in the larger city where they were going to. It was difficult to get the trust of the people since they barely spoke a few common words, but the silver coins did their job.

By the time they reached the big city, called Lhasa, their faces got dark from walking in the sun on the high plains, their European clothes and shoes were long wrapped up in a parcel and replaced by local, warmer clothing.

They hoped to purchase a spot in a carriage to travel further, they imagined their hardships were now over and after seven days of walking and seven nights of sleeping on hard rocks while wrapped in warm and fuzzy wool blankets they reached civilisation.

But this was something rather different than the civilisation they were used to. It was a large city, but there were no trains leading to it, there was no wide river that would allow ships to travel and they could hardly find any means of transport than the one they used to get there.

The trading they did on the market had more value in the lessons they learned than in the money they earned. Oliver made sure to note all the particularities and gestures used while negotiating a trade in hope that this would earn him back a position in a trading company.

Oliver clutched onto his bag that held the documents and reviewed his plans from time to time. The newly gained knowledge encouraged him to develop it further as well as propose to branch into Tibet that had yet to see the power of his trading company.

Therese kept questioning him about everything he could remember on the two monks and what happened with them. She insisted there was some magic involved, that those flying mice they saw might be real and that the monsters they saw were somehow related to the two monks.

He never encouraged his wife to dwell on those beings, in his opinion, they should have focused on returning back to the civilisation, back to the harbour they arrived from and the lives they used to live.

“I can’t go back to the life I used to live and I do not want to.” Therese stated. “Besides, I’m a married woman now.” She smiled. “I have decided to have a new life with you.” She reminded him. “For whatever that is.”

“But I don’t own a house for you to live in while I travel for work.” Oliver replied sheepishly. He really did not think this through before he proposed to the girl and she was not asking too many questions about his wealth since she wished to get away from her father.

“I do not want to be stuck in a house my whole life and bear children like my mother while my father travelled and returned home only to arrange a marriage for one of his daughters because it was a part of a business deal.” Therese pouted.

“Isn’t that what any woman wants when she gets married?” Oliver frowned. The idea that did not need to have a house for his family to stay permanently looked appealing to the young man, especially since he had no means to sustain one.

“Not the one you married.” She teased. He smiled at her gently. Then they wrote a letter, together, to his company, and proposed to set a business outpost somewhere there, deep in the continent, and proposed him as the one to lead it.

They sent the letter through means that travelled sligltly faster than them. They purchased one more horse and a small tent and travelled lightly but quickly over the high plains until they found a river where they could finally board a ship.

But Therese never forgot about the magic and wrote in details about the beauty of the landscapes there and she sketched a few in her diary. She might have been even slightly disappointed that they stopped the trekking and now she was able to change back to her European clothes.

They were both spoiled brats used to the comforts of homes that were not particularly rich, but sufficiently wealthy. But they were also young and adventurous so they got used to their new life of travel rather quickly.

If only they had more money in coins, life would have been easier, they could have afforded more, a more comfortable bed, their own heated room, a carriage or a servant, but each time Therese even thought of complaining, she remembered what was the alternative.

Oliver was focused on learning the trade on the way and made sure to note each and every oddity he encountered, including a few that mentioned magic and supernatural beings, not that he intended to admit that he now believed that, it was just a story he heard from the locals if anyone asked.

Months have passed and the two young adults returned to the same harbour city. They found her father there, at the same place where they left him, the man still did not conclude a single trading deal and spent the nights consuming the same stuff he was selling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The story will come back to both couples in a different way.


	23. En Garde

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Felix wants to join the fencing academy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In order to stick to at least some order in the timeline we are back in school the next day ...

En garde

The next day at school had proven that Chloe and Felix being friends was not the best idea, especially when they did not target each other. Felix was pulling pranks and Chloe always managed to say a few demeaning things that would blame the victim and there was always someone hurt.

“There are no akuma any more, we are safe to do whatever we want.” Chloe smirked and Felix did not bother to state his own state of mind out loud. Adrien prevented a few pranks while Marinette made sure to stand up to Chloe, but the damage was done.

That day, they had fencing after school and Felix decided to join the team, on his own, there wasn’t even a spot open for him. Marinette lingered around and studied one of the diaries they copied, she noticed drawings of familiar landscapes inside, but it was hard to read in the beginning.

Felix paraded the locker room in his fencing gear, he was there to seize the day, he was there to get his spot in the renown D’Argencourt fencing academy. Then his eyes fell on someone with red fencing trousers and vest.

“Adrien?” The person inquired from her seated position. He took the chance to mess up with one more of Adrien’s friends and sat down by her side. Lila threw herself on him to kiss him. Kagami removed the mask from her head.

“Hey!” He plastered that Adrien smile over his face.

“Hi.” She looked uncertain and studied his face and expression. “You look different.” She noted as a matter of a fact. “You really have changed over the last two weeks. You look almost like a different person. I don’t mean it in a bad way.”

“Yeah.” Felix switched to the Adrien smile number two. He still had no idea who this girl was, save that he had seen her on a photo with Adrien, both in fencing gear. The girl was unreadable, he felt like she had some feelings for Adrien but drawn back.

“I’m not good at this.” Kagami stated with a hint of nervousness, but that was not something to hesitate about, she put her gloved hand over his gloved hand. “Adrien, I’m really sorry about how your family situation turned out and I’m really glad you have Marinette.”

Felix stared at the girl for one more moment. He could have been pure mean and brush her off, but there was something about her posture and attitude, she was calm yet forceful, he would need to pus really far to offend her, and he actually wanted something else.

“I’m not Adrien.” He finally stated bluntly, but he kept the model smile and the gentle expression for one more moment before he became serious again.. That was his last resort if he wanted any kind of reaction from this girl. But he still got none. “I’m his cousin, Felix.”

“Oh right.” Kagami looked at their joined hands. “You looked differently yesterday when I saw you in front of the school. I’m Kagami” She did not pull her hand away, but squeezed his as if they were shaking hands after they introduced themselves.

“Right. Pleased to meet you.” Felix looked at their joined hands. Why was this girl not at least annoyed by his prank? He did not notice any reaction in the girl, no annoyance, amusement, anger, she was obviously fooled for a moment, and he knew she cared, how much self control did she have?

“I should go for the fencing practise.” She got to her feet and walked away. Her steps were determined and measured, her tone was neither cold nor flat, she wasn’t sure if Felix fooled her intently or she got it wrong by accident and she was in no mood to clarify that.

In the gym, the group assembled around the fencing master. Monsieur D’Argencourt was quite busy talking, he praised Adrien for his technique against Hawk Moth and Mayura, especially how he evaded the blows from the villain with his expert analysis and memory of the fight.

“Monsieur D’Argencourt.” Felix called, all dressed up in his fencing gear with a mask on his face. “The fencing master!” He called again. “I demand a trial to join your team.”

“I am the fencing master, Monsieur D'Argencourt. As I'm sure you're aware, we have do not have any open spots on the team at this very moment.

“I demand a trial. I am better than your best fencer.” Felix stated his claim. “Give me a chance to prove myself. It is your duty as a defender of modern days chivalry.”

“Very well, I am giving you a chance against my most experienced student.” The fencing master stepped away. “Adrien, please give our visitor a lesson in chivalry.”

“I shall, master.” Adrien took his position and waits for Felix.

“That is not okay, let me fight him.” Kagami protested. “Felix is his cousin, he should prove himself against me.”

“Adrien had proven himself in the battle before, I will let him defend the honours of our fencing school.” The fencing master had stated his decision.

Felix walked over and plugged himself in.

“Greet each other!” The fencing master ordered and crossed his sabre arm over his chest and then snapped it out to his side in the traditional fencing greeting.

Adrien repeated the gesture quickly, but Felix made a show and did it much slower and hesitated while doing it.

“En garde! Prêt, allez!” The fencing master ordered. Adrien moved on the spot and waited for an attack, but Felix simply raised his sabre and waited.

“You are supposed to attack me, Felix, come on.” Adrien encouraged his opponent.

“No, you are supposed to attack me! Who says I should attack you first? Why shouldn’t you attack me and get a point?” Felix teased.

“Look, it is simple, attack, parry, riposte, counter-attack.” Adrien was explaining.

“Indeed, and in that case, if I attack first, the point goes to you. So I’m letting you to attack first.” Felix continued.

“What is this?” Kagami protested. “Do you two intend to fight or tire each other with hesitation?”

Finally, Adrien lunged forward, Felix easily evaded his attack and placed a hit.

“Attack, parry, riposte, counter-attack. Point!” Monsieur D’Argencourt pointed toward Felix and motioned for the two fencers to continue their duel.

Felix lunged first and hit instantly, Adrien did not move to the side.

“Attaque! Touche. Point!” The fencing master indicated Felix as the one who received the point. He frowned because his favourite had lost a point. “Continue!” He ordered.

“I should have fought him.” Kagami groaned on the side.

Adrien attacked again, Felix evaded him, but Adrien evaded the counter-attack.

“Continue!” The fencing master shouted.

The two boys lunged forward, evaded each other and tried to strike back but each of the attacks was avoided.

Then suddenly they both scored a hit simultaneously.

“Simultané! Par un toucher!” The fencing master announced. “Continue.”

“You are giving him too much slack, you fought Hawk Moth and won. Don’t let your family ties make you weak towards your opponents, Adrien. Let me handle this.” Kagami insisted.

“This is ridiculous! Adrien, you already lost two points, is your fencing master going to let you play for as long as it takes to beat me? Because that could take a long time.” Felix taunted.

Adrien lunged again, Felix lunged from his side and they both hit the target again.

“I say that I won.” Felix shouted while he greeted the fencing master with his sabre.

“I am the referee here and I say that you didn’t win … yet.” Monsieur D’Argencourt protested.

“Look, either give me a spot in your fencing school or give me a proper opponent, because I have already won against this one.” Felix protested.

“He’s right, he won.” Adrien admitted.

“I challenge you!” Kagami announced and stepped in front of Felix.

“Why not, I’m sure I can beat you too … redpants?” Felix taunted.

Adrien unplugged his chord and walked away. He found Marinette on the edge of the gym, she watched the whole duel.

“He’s good.” Adrien admitted.

“And we are both tired and distracted and you have not practised for three weeks.” She replied back.

“Save against my father.” He replied with a tone of sarcasm in his voice.

“Hey, he admired your technique?” She tried to fix the mood between them.

Meanwhile, Kagami stood and waited for an attack while Felix stood there and watched her.

“Aren’t you going to plug yourself first?” Felix inquired. “It would be unfair if my points could not be counted because you’re unplugged.”

“I am not trying to cheat!” Kagami shot back. “I request that we do it the old-fashioned way. We'll be much more at ease without the machine.” She played the same line as she did in her duel against Adrien on her first day when she got into the fencing school.

“Request denied.” Felix shot back and took his stand. He did his slow greeting with the sabre and waited.

Kagami exhaled loudly and got the chord and plugged herself in.

“En garde... Prêt... allez!” The fencing master called and the two fencers moved lightly forward and then backward, and then suddenly Kagami lunged forward and surprised Felix and hit his body with her sabre.

“Attaque! Touche. Point!” The fencing master indicated Kagami as the one who received the point. “Continue.” He smirked, his student was wining against this imposter.

Kagami lunged again, Felix evaded it and scored.

“Attack, parry, riposte, counter-attack. Point!” Monsieur D’Argencourt pointed toward Felix and frowned. “Continue!” He shouted.

The duel continued, point for point on each side, each point was difficult to win. The fencing master was sweating just because he was a referee.

Finally, Felix won two points in a row.

“You won your place in the D’Argencourt fencing academy. Tell us all your name.” The fencing master required. The man finally relented, anyone this good had earned a place in the academy.

“My name is Felix Graham de Vanily.” The boy took off his mask and turned to everyone.

“He looks just like Adrien.”

“She said he’s Adrien’s cousin.”

“I am Adrien’s cousin on the side of our mothers.” The boy confirmed with a tone of boredom in his voice.

“Well, I am glad to have here such skilful fencer!” The fencing master grinned. “But we have a following problem and that is the odd number of fencers. Therefore, we will either send one of our fencers home, or we could take one more fencer to make the number even.”

“What?” There were a few surprised fencers around.

“Well, if we take Felix, we should take another student to have an even number.” Monsieur D’Argencourt clarified. 

“Why don’t we take Marinette?” Adrien shouted from the back. “She did pretty well the last time she was here.”

“Adrien?” Marinette questioned the proposal because she was totally taken by surprise, but then she beamed up, she did want to join fencing before, so why not to do it this time?

“Why don’t you go and gear up quickly?” The fencing master motioned with his hand. “Now who is going to put our most recent candidate through trial?”

“Can I fight her?” Adrien asked quietly.

“Right.” Felix crossed his arms and turned towards the fencing master.

“Is this the girl that fought alongside you against Hawk Moth and Mayura?” The fencing master demanded.

“Yes she is.” Adrien confirmed.

“Then I will let Kagami to put her through trial.” Monsieur D’Argencourt decided.

Adrien stalked over to Kagami.

“I intended to let her win. Could you do that, please?” Adrien whispered.

“She should enter the academy fair and square.” Kagami responded quietly.

“Please, to let her into the fencing academy and resolve this whole charade with Felix. Otherwise Monsieur D’Argencourt is going to kick one of us out.” He continued.

“Not you, and certainly not me.” Kagami sounded resolved.

“I don’t want anyone thrown out because of Felix. Besides, she is your friend.” He was aiming really low.

“So are you.” Kagami smirked. Adrien could not see her face because she kept her mask on, but she smiled gently through the conversation.

Marinette walked in with the fencing gear on, she went to the cable and plugged herself in.

“Okay.” She turned and faced a fencer in red trousers. “Kagami.” She sighed. She knew she had little to no chance of winning, but she at least, intended to put up a good fight.

The two fencers exchanged a greeting with their sabres.

“En garde... Prêt... allez!” The fencing master called again.

Marinette and Kagami both lunged instantly. They both evaded the attack initially, but Marinette shifted her sabre just a little, sufficient to make a score.

“Attaque! Touche. Point!” The fencing master indicated. He looked ready to accept Marinette into the academy and proclaim the issue resolved after only one point being scored.

“Wow, thank you, I know that this means you lost two duels today … “ Adrien whispered to Kagami.

“Wait! I want to be the one who will test the chivalry of our most recent candidate. Your best members got exhausted by their previous fights.” Felix called.

“What? No!” Marinette muttered to herself.

Felix walked over to Kagami, unplugged her and plugged himself.

Marinette greeted him with her sabre. He greeted back slowly.

“ Prêt... allez!” The fencing master spoke half heartedly.

Felix stood there and waited while Marinette danced back and forth on her feet. She never went too close so that Felix would not surprise her with an attack. The boy snickered at his opponent.

“You should have taught your girlfriend fencing, not ballroom dancing Adrien.” Felix taunted and as he spoke the last word he got hit by Marinette’s sabre.

“Attaque! Touche. Point!” The fencing master indicated.

“Where did that come from?” Felix frowned at the girl who was still dancing back and forth. 

“You won the point go back to your place.” Felix shouted.

Marinette schooled herself and returned to her initial position.

“Okay, Prêt... allez!” The fencing master shouted.

This time Felix lunged instantly, but Marinette evaded him and her sabre really just got in his way, almost by accident, he did not expect it to be there and she scored  another point.

“Attack, parry, riposte, counter-attack. Point!” Monsieur D’Argencourt pointed toward Marinette.

“I can’t believe this.” Felix muttered. “I’m being pathetic here.”

“No.” Marinette replied. “I’m pathetic, but you are losing against me.”

“Fine.” Felix lowered his sabre. “She won two points more than me.” He turned towards Adrien. “Your girlfriend really knows how to put up a fight.”

“Congratulations, you won your place at my fencing academy too.” Monsieur D’Argencourt grinned.

F inally, everyone else resumed their fencing practise, while the four fencers retreated to the side with their head gear off.

“What was that?” Kagami and Felix spoke in unison towards Marinette.

“Um … I … practised?” She looked at Adrien. “Yes, I did, practise I mean … you see … I was trying to get into … the fencing academy … before.” She flailed her arms all around as she tried to make an excuse why she won.

“Well, I have seen that fight you put in the temple and you definitely have some untrained potential there.” The fencing master stroked his chin and smiled at Marinette but he quickly turned around as he had to attend other fencers.

“You have no skill, those were no fencing moves.” Felix whisper shouted.

“So what? I still won!” Marinette whisper shouted back. Adrien chuckled, Kagami smirked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those of you who are anxious to read those diaries ... they will do it in a few chapters.


	24. A Ride

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lila wants to make a move on Felix.  
> The boy asks for a ride.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy the ride ...

A Ride

Lila missed the moment when Felix and Amelie met the rest of her class in front of school on Monday. Rosa, her teaching assistant just happened to have so much spare time and even more interest in how Lila was keeping up with her studies.

Then, the next day Felix arrived to school and did that prank on her. She was angry and ready for a revenge, but then she schooled herself. The boy looked just like Adrien, his mother was there to claim the Gabriel fashion empire, and to continue chasing after Adrien was useless.

By the end of the second school day, she had a plan to weasel herself into his home, well, into his room in Le Grand Paris. She was a master at that at least. But his mother picked him up to go to the Agreste mansion and the girl had to abandon her initial plan to simply get into the car with him.

She did not get herself free from her chaperon, pardon, the learning assistant, to just go home and sit on her ass, so she walked over to the hotel, a little compliment there and a little lie here and she knew in which room her classmate stayed.

The room was locked and when she tried to get someone from the staff to unlock it and let her in, she heard Chloe on the other end of the corridor and hid just metres away from the hotel room. Chloe and Felix walked over to his room while she talked.

Lila expected from Felix to slam the door in the heiress face, but he actually invited her in when Amelie appeared on the end of the corridor and joined them. Lila clenched her fists. Then the three left the hotel room together and Lila was left alone to make plans for another day.

The next day, Lila was not so lucky to shake Rosa away. After the afternoon classes, they went to the library and Rosa worked on her concentration of all things. Rosa somehow concluded that Lila was scatterbrained and unable to concentrate.

The problem was, Lila was concentrated on how to make friends with Felix, regain her former story telling glory and reach the ultimate popularity each school girl strived for and she deserved (in the world according to Lila). Rosa reminded her to focus on the studies.

It was rather annoying. Lila never strived for true friendship, she never had that, she never had the time for that and she never stayed in one place long enough to achieve it. Besides, true friendship was a lot of work, being popular, at least for false stories, was far easier.

She loved attention, she basked in it, it wasn’t her fault that she was gifted to know what people wanted to hear. And she was willing to give it to them. Yet, she was rather annoyed when her teaching assistant referred to that as a psychological disorder that should be treated.

Of course, Lila would not be Lila if she did not think of a way to turn that to her advantage. She finally had a real illness to whine and complain about, to make a pity party around herself to call anyone who called her out on it a bully and discriminating because she was just sick.

Of course, it was just her illness that made her do all those things, to make a deal with Hawk Moth, pardon, to make a deal with Gabriel Agreste, all those lies she told, the interviews she made, it was all her illness that made her do it, she wasn’t evil, oh no, you got it all wrong.

And the best thing was, the class had forgotten about most of her stories as soon as she did, a few of them remembered several false promises she made, but she forgot about them. It was a sad fact that Marinette probably remembered her lies better than she herself who had told them.

Lila already sold a story to her mother, a poor and innocent girl was pulled in the life of crime by the powerful Gabriel Agreste, the father of her boyfriend (she insisted on that) who had offered her a career in modelling in exchange for a few services.

Rosa decided to end her work for the day because Lila was not paying her any attention at all, the young woman concluded that the girl was probably exhausted and lost in her own thoughts and worries so she tried with a few comforting words that landed on bare soil.

Because Lila wasn’t listening. She had schemes of her own, new schemes on how to return to her former glory or even rise higher than ever before. All she needed to do was to get attention from Felix, or even better, his mother, and the rest was going to be history.

Lila got out from school and noticed that her luck had just changed. Felix stood there with Adrien, Marinette and Kagami. The red car had just arrived, Felix opened the door to the red car like a gentleman he was, he let Kagami enter, and then he followed inside.

“What?” Lila screeched. Those few moments she had a plan to latch on Felix and follow him or even propose to take him around, to give him a tour, preferably find a nice place to sit alone, have a talk, let her advertise herself.

Marinette heard the screech and turned around. She noticed Lila who just slipped back into school behind the large entrance door, but she and noticed her. She nudged Adrien and motioned with her head to turn around and look towards the resident liar so he knew too.

But the two of them had to switch their attention to a few reporters who just wanted to know how the two heroes were doing back in school after the holidays. They were able to leave after a few minutes and Lila, who remained hidden, was again alone.

Felix was probably the only one from the group who noticed Lila who just lurked out from the main school gates. The rest of the group was too consumed in their conversation. He had a strange feeling in his guts that he was the next target of the girl.

“Could you give me a lift?” Felix asked politely when he let Kagami enter the car. It was an odd question for her, of course she was able to give someone a lift, but she never did such things, because nobody ever asked her to. So she complied with one firm nod and a serious face.

Felix entered inside and actually looked forward to a little more time with the girl. She virtually stared at him and studied his face and his posture without any shame, hesitation or apology. So finally he stared back. They dared each other who would speak first with their eyes.

“You are a skilled fencer.” She stated flatly. If she lost two of her fencing duels, she might as well give him some credit. For her, that was the highest praise she could give to another boy, she surely hoped he appreciated it.

“You’re not so bad yourself.” Felix remained as expressionless as she was. If this was a poker face competition, he was determined to win. He did not fully comprehend what this girl’s story was, she was difficult to read.

“It is a family tradition.” She replied calmly. He praised her fencing and since the praise came from a boy who had shown exceptional skill, the reply was a sufficient compliment for her. The attempt to continue the small talk was well earned.

“There are fencers in my family too.” He countered. At first, he winced at his own words, because the first association Kagami could get from his words was his former supervillain uncle who now awaited his destiny in China.

“Yes, I know Adrien.” She confirmed. It was her assumption that Gabriel also used to practise fencing, especially when she looked at the battles where Hawk Moth participated, but she chose not to mention that particular family member.

“Not just him, my father and my uncle too., then … “ He replied in a tone that was saying something like ‘you should have known this already’ or ‘ haven’t Adrien told you any of this’. But she produced absolutely no reaction.

“My mother is a world famous fencer.” Kagami stated with subdued pride.

“Do you do competitions often?” He was looking for a weak spot.

“Yes, and I tend to win any duel I engage in.” She stated.

“So, what happened today? Not challenging enough? Or you intentionally let us win just to join the academy?” He teased, oh now he knew her weakness and he was abut to use it.

“You won fair and square.” She replied without a hint of embarrassment. “I can lose, I lost to Adrien once.”

“Once ...” Felix repeated. “And then you lost against his girlfriend.”

“I lost one point.” Kagami spoke as if she was explaining something to a child.

“And I lost two, okay, I get it.” He replied. “But you wanted her in, that is why you lost.”

“That is not the reason why I lost one point.” She replied.

“You did not say that you did not want her in.” He was searching for buttons to push, he was certain he found them, but the reaction was not what he wanted.

“No, I did not say that.” She confirmed.

“So you did want Adrien’s girlfriend on the team.” He concluded.

“Her name is Marinette and yes I did.” She made one firm nod.

“Why?” He inquired.

“Because she is my friend. Because she wanted to?” She had nothing to hide there, she was not even willing to hide her reasons. “She made a fair effort and she scored on her own. There was no help from me needed.”

“Okay, if you say so.” He wanted to smirk, but the poker face competition was going on without a winner.

“I do. So why did you lose to Marinette? Did you want her on the team too?” She asked so calmly as if she was searching for anything meaningless to say just to continue a polite conversation.

“I … um … no.” He pushed the words out.

“So you do not want her on the team? You don’t like her?” Her tone never changed form emotionless and the questions did not even contain a tone of curiosity.

“I don’t care.” It took all he had to keep the tone flat and with no emotion involved.

The car had stopped and Felix got out and held the door for Kagami.

“But this is where I live.” She noted with only a hint of surprise in her tone.

“Of course, that is where your car was programmed to take you.” He concluded and closed the door.

“Haven’t you needed a ride.” She raised her eyebrows.

“Yes, thank you, I needed a ride, away from there, I did not care where you took me. Your place is just as fine as any other and now I know where you live. I’m going to take a walk to Le Grand Paris now. See you around. Bye.” He greeted.

“Okay. You’re welcome. Bye.” She replied with determination in her eyes. This boy had just pushed all her buttons and he wanted to know where she lived? She was awkward at making friends and unsure if this was a common way to do it. At least for that guy.

Lila walked away from school, determinedly, in the direction of Le Grand Paris. Kagami had simply given him a ride. That was all. It was really a reasonable decision, to share a car ride, save on money, pollution and congestion, not bother the bodyguard, it really was, but it was not her style.

She already knew where to go so she forego any sly compliments and lies and went straight for the elevator. Felix should have arrived already, he should be upstairs, she just had to go up there and knock, she had her story ready.

She knocked and there was no answer. She tried again and there was no answer. She leaned her ear on the door and she heard no noises from the inside. She knocked on the door again and flinched her head away from the door because her ear was still on it.

“Stupid.” She muttered and kicked the door with her foot.

“The persons you are looking for are not yet back, Mademoiselle.” A cleaning lady noted. “Would you like to leave a message?”

“No, no message, thank you.” She turned around and walked away. Felix probably went to his room and decided to go somewhere else, probably Chloe or maybe to have tea with his mother or something. She sneaked around the hotel and checked the cafe and the restaurant.

She eavesdropped on different conversations of all those finely dressed people. On the first floor, there was a conference room and people were released for a coffee break and a chat and all those men and women in suits impressed her.

But then her eyes met oh so familiar face and eyes of her mother and Lila ducked and quickly skidded away through winding hallways. She had no idea that her mother was there, but of course she was, it looked like an important meeting with important people.

She found a side exit and ran. Once outside she walked away from the hotel determinedly. She needed an excuse for her mother and she needed a better plan for the next day. Felix was almost at the hotel entrance when he noticed Lila sneak out from the side door and then run away.

He chuckled and shook his head. Adrien told him about his classmate and how she got inside the Agreste mansion once, she wanted to go to the mansion with him and he learned from the hotel staff that a girl fitting her description was looking for him already the day before.

He started making schemes how he was going to fool her in the next few days. She was looking for it, rather literally and he would be a poor boy not to oblige to her wishes. He reached his room and his mother was not there yet, probably dealing with the business.

He sighed and decided to take a shower. He needed something to do until dinner and he was not in the mood for more Chloe. He took out his phone and wrote a message. He needed her number and he was certain that Adrien would share.

Adrien did not share Kagami’s number. His reason was the prank Felix pulled with his other friends for his last visit and if Kagami wanted him to have her number, she would have given it to him, herself. That was not enough for Felix. He called.

“Felix, you’ll have a chance to ask her for her number on fencing tomorrow.” Adrien told him over the phone.

“Did you and Kagami have a … thing … before you went to China.” Felix inquired.

“What thing? Kagami and me are friends, Felix.” Adrien replied calmly.

“And you were only friends?” Felix knew that there had to be more than that.

“We went on a few dates, as friends.” Was Adrien’s reply.

“Right. What kind of dates.” He was going somewhere.

“Look we went ice skating, to my friend’s boat to hang out with friends, my film premiere, the anniversary of Chloe’s parents, ice cream … I don’t remember. Why do you need to know ans of this, Felix. Don’t hurt my friends.” Adrien was alert.

“I’m not going to hurt your friends.” Just have some fun with them and here we are not talking about friends but more like ex-girlfriends and stuff. “So your first date was ice skating?” He inquired.

“Yes, it was Marinette’s idea, she arranged it.” Adrien confirmed.

“Marinette … arranged … a date … for you and Kagami?” Felix spoke slowly. He remembered rather well her confession in that video, as pathetic as he thought it was.

“Yes, she was there too, with Luka, because I asked her to.” Because I was too intimidated to go on a date with Kagami on my own, Adrien added inside. Perhaps he was worried about Kagami for no reason, but then he remembered how Lila hurt her. “Why do you want to know?”

“I don’t know why.” Felix replied and was not aware how much truth he just said. That girl was not irritating as Chloe, he did not find her pathetic as Marinette, she was not a pushy and sly attention seeker and amateur manipulator like Lila.

Adrien really wanted to ask his cousin if he liked Kagami but Nino put a stop to that conversation with just one quirk eyebrow. Who was he to ask because he was no aware of his own feelings for most of the people and most of the time.

“Okay, got to go, got a gaming session with Nino.” Adrien was about to hang up and then remembered. He looked at Nino expectantly and got back one firm nod. “Would you like to join us and play some video games and hang out.”

“No, thank you, maybe some other time.” Felix cut the connection. He did not do games, he did not hang out and he did not have a best bro to do it with and he was definitely not that desperate to borrow one from his cousin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Had to put some Lila already here.


	25. Reading Emilie's diary (part one)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien and Marinette read the (important part of) diary together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, let's go back to the diaries. Specifically the one written by Emilie.

Reading diaries 

“I stayed up last night and read my mother’s first diary. She started writing for her sixth birtday.” Adrien stated proudly. He sat on Marinette’s bed, her lamp was on, she held the tablet with scanned pages of the diaries while the boy held onto the original diary from his mother.

“Anything interesting?” She asked while she frowned at one of the old diaries they copied the night before, it was easy to read, written in a neat handwriting, but it was difficult to understand what Therese meant by many of her statements.

“Well, my mum liked to pretend, sing, read, play games and have arguments with her sister.” He sighed. “They pretended to be each other often.” He had that longing look on his face. “Felix and me used to get along much better before … “

“Before what?” She uttered and finally focused again on the boy beside her. Ever since he arrived as Chat Noir they discussed how much they were not able to understand someone from about two hundred years ago and yet how similar they were sometimes.

“I don’t know before what, just before, while my mother was around, I guess, or his father, or both. He changed.” Adrien concluded. Then he reminded himself that he had changed too, started going to school, became Chat Noir.

“Because his father died?” Marinette asked cautiously. It was a logical conclusion, she wasn’t certain how much Adrien had changed after his mother died, she did not know him before, Chloe was the only one who knew, but wouldn’t tell.

“I don’t know.” He turned his attention back to the diary he held in his hands. This was what his mother wrote, her thoughts and feelings, experiences and wishes.

“How far have you got?” She asked next. Honestly, she did not progress too quickly and did not get particularly far into her readings, the school took many hours and she in fact indulged her self to actually sleep during the night.

“She’s twenty now.” He blushed then he cleared his throat. “I skipped a few parts where she … met my father.” And no, he did not sleep much, he read it until just before school and then again as soon as he got back, but did not dare to bring it to school with him.

“What?” Marinette whisper shouted. Well, who was she to judge, her own diary contained a lot of stuff she would prefer not to be read by someone else. And now they were reading someone else’s diaries. Perhaps she should have thought about that option.

“She goes into details. I thought her description of getting a period was gore, but this stuff … “ He turned around from the diary. “My mum was a wild one.” He smirked. “And according to this, so is her sister.” He coughed.

“Do you think Amelie is keeping a diary?” Marinette asked offhandedly. She had no idea why she said that out loud, perhaps she wanted to avoid being asked what kind of stuff she wrote in her own diary.

“If she is, I bet Felix read it all.” Adrien half joked. “I know my mother stumbled upon some diaries in the attic and read them, that was one of the reasons she wanted to travel to China and visit Tibet. There was something in those old diaries.”

“This Therese girl is on a ship that sails to China.” Marinette tapped at what she was reading. “No miraculous there, for sure, just a lot of dresses and tea parties and older sisters who were getting married, or not … “

“Well, my mother read it whole and there is some strange stuff in the diaries by that Therese girl, I think my mum and Amelie argued if that other girl was insane or under an influence or something when she wrote it.” Adrien chuckled.

“Well, up until now she was driving me insane, it is as if the only thing she thought about were what to wear and who will be her husband. Is there anything about the miraculous yet?” She asked.

“They are just about to go for a photo shoot to Tibet, I think it must be coming up, want to read it with me?” He offered.

“It is better than this ancient scripts I’m trying to decipher.” Marinette turned around and they were both reading together.

“Now, Daniel is a bank manager, according to this, Amelie went on a few dates with him until this point, but I suspect there was more if she was as active as my mother.” Adrien was not trying to hide his blush. “Daniel was my uncle.” He added more soberly.

“Oh” She uttered and began to read.

‘ _Daniel still had not decided if he wants to go, of Amelie had not asked him. Gabriel insists on getting us all on a single airplane. Audrey is coming, but said Andre can’t join her. Looking forward to this, read five books on Tibet since the place for the shoot was decided.’_

‘ _Finally! We are getting a charter to Lhasa and then a government guide. We are going to walk the high plains. I love it already. I have made copies of Therese’s drawings.’_

‘ _Landed, changed flights, landed, got to a hotel, going to sleep. Gabriel insisted on keeping things professional so I’m being professional.’_

‘ _Seen the temple in Lhasa! Sobering up and magical at the same time.’_

‘ _Got proper mountain clothes? Me: yes, Amelie: yes, Andre: yes, the rest of the crew: mostly, Gabriel and Audrey: no, it’s not in style. Dragged those two shopping today.’_

‘ _Took a ride on the back of a truck. Shaken, not stirred. I guess anything would be uncomfortable on that road. The view was magnificent. I might have recognized some of the scenery depicted by Therese.’_

‘ _have to be brief, no time to write, Amelie and me are sharing a sleeping bag, it is so cold. And she’s grumpy because Daniel is not here. As if being here with Gabriel on his professional terms is any different.’_

Adrien and Marinette laughed at that one. Then they looked at each other and blushed, he pulled her closer and continued to read.

‘ _Did the photo shoot. Might be stylish clothes, but it’s freezing cold out here. No warm bubble bath. Just grumpy Amelie to keep me warm.’_

‘ _Snowed in today, good thing we rented a few rooms, cold though. Audrey and Andre want to make a film here. Amelie is with them working on a script all day. I walked around, the cinematography would be fantastic, especially in snow, just freezing for the crew to do it.’_

‘ _Note to self: never leave your boots outside to dry and forget them over night.’_

‘ _Had a few more days of photo shoot. If anyone thinks they can wear that clothes in this weather in this environment and in the way they see us in photos, they are about to become icicles. The first day I can actually write, my hands got stiff.’_

‘ _We are looking for another scenery location, the photographer said we have the same peaks in the background. Our licence does not allow further but Gabriel did something.’_

‘ _So beautiful, just a beautiful place, I love it. Frozen again.’_

‘ _The photo shoot is finished, technical crew is going to work on it while the rest of the group can have a few days of a vacation before imminent re-shoot. Btw. Amelie got a surprise visit from Daniel.’_

‘ _Each day we go somewhere further and I walk a small tour, at first everyone joined me, but today it was only Gabriel. I stumbled upon two pieces of jewellery and a book. A tiny creature appeared when I touched the brooch and another when I took the pin. Duusu and Nooroo. They call themselves kwami. They can give us powers, we can transform and run fast and far and hike much further.”_

“She found it, she found them.” Adrien exclaimed.

“And they are using the kwami for sightseeing.” Tikki huffed.

“Well we have the sights in Paris too.” Marinette shrugged.

‘ _I took the peacock brooch. It is fantastic. I can create things, anything I imagine, and give it life. Gabriel is frustrated though, I gave him the pin. All he does is run around in the suit and argues with Nooroo. Apparently, if he wants to control somebody, he needs a special kind of butterfly. I just need a feather from my tail. More convenient.’_

“Did she randomly create sentimonsters and just leave them there on the plain?” Marinette felt her eyes bulged out as she read that.

‘ _I can make and control only one creature at a time. Tried to read that book, got the words, but can’t say I understand the meaning. Gabriel caught a butterfly today. He said he made me do things. I don’t remember. Maybe I just fell asleep for a while and he invented the story.’_

“Maybe they did not evilize the feather and the butterfly at first.” Marinette noted.

‘ _Gabriel keeps the butterfly in a jar and every evening we go to our small hut, he transforms and then releases the butterfly on me. He says he can make me do things or imagine any piece of clothing on me. He made a drawing of a few of those costumes, he intends to make them for the next season.’_

‘ _Each day I create something different to play with, each night Gabriel released a butterfly on me. He said I was fantastic one morning and that I did not do anything I haven’t done before. He has a new lingerie line. I’m tired.’_

‘ _Shoots re-done, the peaks in the background are fine and exotic, we can finally go home. Coughing. Got cold.’_

There were occasional mentions of her using the miraculous to create something and Gabriel using the butterfly ‘to check his design ideas on her before he decides which ones to make’.

“So he imagined it first, then he used the miraculous to create it and then he draw what he saw? That’s cheating.” Marinette protested.

‘ _I don’t know how he did it, Gabriel talked to everyone one on one, but with the help of Andre, we got a really nice mansion in the centre of Paris and a good deal from the bank that I’m sure Daniel assured and my folks want to invest in his fashion line. I’m so excited. He intends to build an empire and insists this is all because I let him use the butterfly on me.’_

‘ _I’m getting married!”_

‘ _Amelie is getting married!’_

‘ _Audrey is getting marred!’_

‘ _If I call anyone else and tell them I’m getting married, will they also reply that they are getting married too?’_

Adrien and Marinette laughed. There were detailed descriptions of the wedding plans for all three brides and few mentions of the miraculous in between that did not bring any new knowledge to them.

‘ _I have forego shopping and decided to give them a huge stand up mirror for Audrey, she insists on checking the way she looks and her style the whole time. I’m sure she’ll appreciate it. Gabriel wants something to impress, again.’_

Then Emilie described how she was getting tired, how she played with the miraculous one day and managed to create something that looked like an actual mouse and other objects, she did not mention that she retrieved the feather back when she detransformed.

‘ _Gabriel wants me to play only in our little dungeon, but today I learned how to keep my little creatures calm and dormant before I detransform, now I have them all around our house. The objects that hide the feathers are safely stored. I don’t understand why he told Nathalie about us and the dungeon while we are supposed to keep it a secret.’_

“What?” Adrien practically shouted. Marinette covered his mouth. If her parents heard him and found him, she needed a good lie about how he got there and why she was sneaking a boy into her room in the evening. “That house is full of sentimonsters?” He was more quiet.

“She is not writing anything about how to evilize the feather.” Marinette noted. “Miraculous can be used for good, you know. Besides, we don’t know how many of the things she made, she actually kept.”

“This is hardly good.” Tikki chirped.

“Did she create any Camembert?” Plagg asked lazily from his spot on the shelf where he licked the remains of cheese he was given.

“I’m sure you would have found it if she did.” Tikki teased, but Plagg was not amused.

“No, she did not mention that.” Marinette shook her head.

“Then she was wasting her powers.” Plagg concluded.

“Am I abusing my powers when I come here in the evening and return to Nino in the morning?” Adrien pondered.

“We are studying this.” Marinette pointed her finger to the diary.

“So this is what makes it right?” Adrien smirked.

“It is okay, you can use me to visit your fellow guardian.” Plagg spoke in unusually kind way. The truth was that the tiny god of destruction knew that was essential for the well being of his chosen, and subsided nightmares.

‘ _Duusu instructed me to keep him a secret, but Gabriel knows already, and this evening Amelie and me had a few bottles of wine and I’ve shown her a few things. Probably none of us will remember in the morning.’_

“So Amelie knows?” Adrien frowned. “Amelie knew? She must have known all this time, she must have known. Not just about my mother and the peacock miraculous, but also about my father and the butterfly one, besides if she knew about mother … ”

“Maybe she didn’t, they got drunk and probably forgot, see?” Marinette tried to cheer him up. Then there were several notes on the ‘usual’ daily routines, photo shoot, audition for film or a play, different events she attended until they reached a few lines that made both of them smile.

‘ _I’m pregnant.’_

‘ _Amelie’s pregnant.’_

‘ _Audrey is pregnant.’_

‘ _I know it is physically impossible but I am scared to call my mother and tell her I’m pregnant and get back ‘me too’ again.’_

‘ _Mother is not pregnant!’_

She was writing a lot about being tired, about having to stand on a photo shoot while she felt sick to her stomach, about being sick, about being sick and tired and happy about the baby. Adrien could not help but feel guilty for that.

“She is supposed to feel sick and tired, I guess.” Marinette shrugged.

‘ _Gabriel is not so happy, he is happy about the baby but it messed up his plans for the next line and the next campaign.’_

‘ _Nathalie is a pain in the ass. Ever since I got pregnant she is keeping track of everything I do, eat, drink, with whom, … ugh’_

“It started while I was in her womb.” Adrien laughed. Marinette was glad he was able to laugh about it.

‘ _I’m so jealous of Amelie and Audrey, we spent the dinner together. They have barely been sick! Also, nobody asked them what did they eat and how many calories and checked with the restaurant after that!’_

“Guh” Adrien groaned. The text continues about photo shoots, dinners, and pregnancy symptoms.

‘ _I felt it move. Gabriel checked with Nathalie and told me it was digestion. I know what I felt.’_

‘ _It’s a boy. The doctor said it’s a boy. Gabriel is actually happy about it.’_

Then there were more notes about going to a gala or doing a fashion show or something else.

‘ _Amelie lost her son today. I called her, Daniel answered. She doesn’t speak to anyone.’_

‘ _Went for a visit, Amelie screamed at me. Daniel told me ‘at least she talked to you’.’_

‘ _Another visit, another scream.’_

“There is one of these for each day.” Marinette whispered.

“Then it changes, look.” Adrien pointed.

‘ _She doesn’t respond to anyone. Numb, depressed, possibly suicidal, they’re keeping her. I know what to do, I’ve practised enough. Gabriel just frowned when I told him what I want to do. He should be grateful it is the magic that Daniel and my parents is doing that is keeping the company afloat. He … said the company stalled because its face and his muse were pregnant. We had a huge fight.’_

‘ _Adrien was born today. I took him to Amelie, she was in the next room, and I did it. Had nothing but my wedding ring on me to store the amok, but I did it. Amelie has a son, she named him Felix.’_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now would be a good time to read 'How Felix was born' if you are up to it (it is labelled as explicit just in case so it is a separate fic, there are not many gore details).


	26. Reading Emilie's diary (part two)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The second part of reading the diary.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the Adrien's life part of the diary.

Reading diaries part two

“Do you think we read enough for now?” Marinette smiled encouragingly who flipped the diary to close and lock up without even bothering to mar where they stopped with the reading. The boy breathed quickly and harshly before he started to settle down.

“We have other problems, such as what to do with Nooroo and Duusu.” Adrien finally spoke. “The way I see it, we need to talk to those two kwami about their powers and how my parents used them.” His voice wavered a little but he remained determined.

“As a guardian, you have the right to ask them.” Tikki chirped in.

“Are you sure you want to know kid?” Plagg interjected.

“I was looking at my copy of the Book of Lore.” Marinette sighed. “And I did not find anything about fixing Nooroo and Duusu after what happened to them with the temple and everything, there are treatments for the sick kwami that I could try.”

“Good, let’s try that then.” Adrien was ready.

“Ahem.” Plagg raised his eyes from his cheese.

“It’s not that simple Adrien.” Tikki chirped.

“We need the jewels out of the box and we need to wield them and get them out and then we need to treat them until they are cured, we can’t return them to the box like we did the last time.” She replied quietly.

“Oh.” He acknowledged.

“Oh.” She confirmed.

“So, we should reach the original Book of Lore … “ Marinette continued.

“That is not in the safe in his office.” Adrien filled in.

“Gabriel probably took that with him.” Marinette nodded. “Or the original tablet from Fu with his notes because I’m not sure I have everything and he did know little more than was written in that book.”

“And the original notes are … “ Adrien trailed off.

“On the tablet that was probably stolen by Mayura during Miracle Queen.” She finished.

“Great, so both are with my father in Chinese prison.” He stated.

“Or we could go to the temple.” She added quietly.

“So what is it that we know about how to treat sick kwami?” Adrien actually did not have a clue.

“Oh, if I ever fall ill, just give me more smelly cheese and I should recover quickly.” Plagg cut in. “In fact, I think I’m feeling rather weak and exhausted right now.” The tiny god of destruction put his paw dramatically over his forehead and pretended to fall on the bed.

Two teens and a red kwami laughed at his antics.

“Seriously, the only thing I know that works is the same thing that master Fu did when Tikki was ill.” Marinette finally spoke.

“So, let’s try with that first.” Adrien shrugged.

“As I probably mentioned, it is rather noisy, we can’t do it right here right now.” She looked around as if she was looking for something there to prove a point.

“That is all right Marinette, you don’t have to do it right away.” Tikki chirped.

“My parents are having dinner out on Sunday, we could try to do it here then. Otherwise, we need to find some other place where we can produce as much noise as we want and do it there.” Marinette was already planning. “But it should be a place where we could work unobserved and unheard.”

“You mean, we need a place in the middle of Paris, preferably close by, where we could work with the miracle box unheard and unobserved?” Adrien pondered. “A secretive place that is closed to the public?” He grinned and touched his chin with his index finger.

“I see you already have an idea.” Marinette looked at him expectantly, she was not in a mood to guess.

“A place that has a lair … “ Adrien grinned.

“No?” That was the last place she ever expected him to propose for their destination.

“Why not?” He shrugged. “I better face all my demons.” There was that Chat Noir bravery, that mock the danger straight in the face attitude, throw yourself onto the akuma way of thinking, the only thing missing was an annoying pun.

“Okay, we do it there then, but I have to collect a few things first and repeat what I actually have to do and I will need some time to practise there and we are going to need to collect those … “ She was rambling and flailed her hands and was ready to jump and panic pack.

“Aren’t you forgetting something?” Tikki chirped.

Marinette blinked at her kwami, confused. Adrien looked at Tikki, then at Marinette, and finally at Plagg, who was smirking. He was none the wiser. They exchanged a few looks, Marinette searched around as if she was looking for a clue.

“We have to get Nooroo and Duusu out of the box first.” Marinette noted.

“Exactly.” Plagg confirmed.

“But they popped out from their miracle world only in my grandfather’s attic.” The girl protested.

“You are guardians, you could reach them more easily.” Tikki chirped.

“Or faint and be found on the floor.” Plagg added.

“But you could help us with that.” Adrien smirked. “What if we try to get them while transformed.”

“We wielded two miraculous before.” Marinette added.

“You wielded almost all of them.” Adrien smirked.

“Can we use your help, I mean, your energy, to bring them out and then perform the healing?” Marinette looked ant their two kwami.

“Of course Marinette.” Tikki beamed with her blue eyes.

“I would do anything for an appropriate amount of cheese.” Plagg grinned.

“We could do it tomorrow evening then, if you don’t mind?” Adrien smiled. “I feel like we have that much time and we should get more cheese.”

“And cookies, but I’m anxious about prolonging that much further.” Marinette admitted.

There was a long silence.

“Well, that about wraps it up, why don’t we try to read your mother’s diary?” Marinette got on her feet. The two of them snuggled up in her bed and opened a fancy notebook.

There were many short notes about Adrien as a baby and how exhausted Amelie was and how busy Gabriel was as he tried to keep the company afloat. Amelie returned to be his muse and modelled for him soon after she had given birth.

‘ _Adrien grows so fast, I have to have him on my arms while transformed and then I can make Felix grow. Whenever Adrien does something, I just hold him a little and then Amelie calls me and tells me Felix did it too. I’m so happy. This is working.’_

“I think your mother transformed with ‘feathers rise’, not ‘dark feathers rise’, she was using positive emotions, her own positive emotions, and she made Felix to save her sister from despair.” Marinette spoke softly. Adrien was crying.

“And Gabriel probably used her positive emotions and a white butterfly.” She added after a while. She actually hoped that was the case, that Emilie did not utilize the evil amok and that Gabriel only started when Emilie fell into that magic coma.

‘ _Did the first shoot with Adrien. It’s Adrien’s fist shoot, he is so adorable. The camera loves him. That’s just perfect, I can take him with me for all my shoots then.’_

‘ _Gabriel keeps telling how I am unique. I know that is the reason why I knew he loved me, because he was the first one to say that even after he met Amelie. We are so much alike, as if we are the same, but se are different, and Gabriel saw that. Dainel, Amelie’s husband, saw it too, in her.”_

“ _I have stopped holding Adrien while transformed each night. It seems he got allergic to feathers. I’m taking his measures every few days now to make sure that I can influence Felix’s growth the right way.”_

“ _Had another photo shoot with Adrien, it is a perfume commercial. Fans are going crazy, it is good we have a garden around the house so I can give the boy a walk outside. Gabriel thinks we should do it that way all the time.”_

‘ _I have stopped measuring Adrien every few days now. Once per week should be enough. The staff is doing it now for the fashion shows and photo shoot outfits. Felix is growing just as fast so it is working.’_

‘ _Gabriel snarled at me today, that because I made Felix as a copy of Adrien so Adrien is not unique. What did he mean by that? Of course he’s unique, he is our son. But Gabriel loves him. I know he does. He wouldn’t rely his business so much on us if he did not.’_

The diary also marks each of Adrien’s accomplishments, like his first tooth, when he began to crawl, hold things, walk, eat on his own, Emilie was a happy and proud mother of a healthy child and enjoyed writing about him.

‘ _I still have to hold Adrien transformed if I want to impact Felix the right way, but the boy really developed an allergy to feathers. Gabriel insists to keep our jewels and the magic a secret from everyone, our son included. Have to find a solution for that.’_

‘ _He said ‘mama’ today, I’m so happy’_

The diary continues to list all Emilie’s struggles while she raised her son while she also tried to influence the way Felix developed.

‘ _Did my first night session transformed to see if I can do this while Adrien is asleep. Can’t really check with Amelie, she chose to forgot how Felix was born. Adrien sneezed and woke up, but fell back to sleep quickly.’_

‘ _Amelie discovered that she got the copies of the family wedding rings. Mother told her. They were supposed to go to the oldest child but we are twins so they made copies and I got the original. She claims there is some special bond in the rings. Of course there is, those are wedding rings.’_

‘ _I can’t give her the ring I have to keep it to keep an eye on Felix. He is able to grow and develop on his own so I can relax. It’s been hard to stay transformed around Adrien, I can do it only when he sleeps, and even then he wakes up due to his feather allergy.’_

‘ _Gabriel wants me to stop. He doesn’t understand that Amelie can’t have another child. The procedure they put her through … She just cant, even if she managed to get pregnant and carry the pregnancy till the end, which would be a medical miracle, the psychological toll might be too much for her.’_

‘ _I’m making a film, finally, a nice art film to be done here in Paris. It is practically a family project. The family production. Amelie wrote the script and will do cinematography. Andre is going to direct it. Audrey is doing costumes, well she will chose them. Gabriel wants some product placement, Audrey approved his ideas.’_

‘ _Film is doing fine, Adrien and Felix get along nicely. The next Gabriel line is going to be retro and homage to the film. He has been pulling into his shell ever since we returned from Tibet, I finally got him out from that shell, if only for a day.’_

There were other notes, about their daily life, about how she organized the life, about how they decided to homeschool Adrien contrary to the decision of Audrey and Andre who put Chloe to kindergarten.

Then there were mentions of Nathalie and how everything had to have the business side and make profit.

“My mother really loved being a model and doing acting.” Adrien smiled gently.

‘ _Apparently no dress is sold if I do not model it. I’m so tired. Adrien enjoyed the shoot today. He likes it a lot. But that was the only place we went every day of this week. He’ll make an excellent model.’_

‘ _I have doubts that he still sends an akuma after me in the evenings to visualize his ideas. I can’t remember it. But sometimes I wake up in strange parts of the house, dazed and confused how I got there, and Gabriel is always there. He told me I sleepwalked. ’_

‘ _Today I got akumatized again, Gabriel asked me, I saw the model he draw from that, it is going to be amazing.’_

‘ _It is much harder, but I can control the way Felix develops without interfering with Adrien while transformed. It is such a big weight off my shoulders.”_

She mentioned offhandedly how Gabriel still got her akumatized to see his designs in nature before he put them into production. She also sometimes mentioned how awkward she felt because she coughed at a wrong moment.

“Does that mean that her health deteriorated?” Marinette frowned.

It was painful for Adrien to read those lines where his mother described how she got ill from time to time, especially when Gabriel was on a designing spree and she had to try out all his models and stand there half naked all the time.

There were fewer notes about Felix and Adrien on those days, probably because both Emilie and Gabriel were so busy. But Adrien knew that his mother would visit him each day and they would spend some time together, but now he thought how she had to do it to maintain Felix.

‘ _Felix can live and develop on his own, without my interference, but he is becoming rather different than Adrien in character. They are still like twins when together. They fooled Gabriel over the weekend, he did not appreciate it. Amelie and me laughed our lungs out.’_

‘ _Amelie wants to send Felix to school, but Felix refused to go at first. I transformed and made him agree. Amelie is so happy. Happy birthday Amelie.’_

The notes continued, they marked Adrien’s growth, many fashion seasons and photo shoots, Emilie’s frustration at Gabriel becoming more distant from the world, and then one day the notes stopped. It was close to the day Adrien remembered he saw her for the last time.

“She did not write much about falling ill to the miraculous.” Adrien spoke quietly. “I remember how she used to feel dizzy and coughed from time to time.” Back then, he did not give it too much significance, people coughed all the time for different reasons, even to get attention.

Marinette took his hand and held it firmly. She had no idea what to say to make him feel better about those memories, even if that was possible, but she learned that he calmed down each time she held him, or he held her close.

“I’m also not sure how I feel about Felix if my mother lost her life because of him.” Adrien continued. There was that lingering sense of dread and resentment, because the person he regarded as his cousin, practically a brother, although distant, because none of them had any siblings, was now a sentimonster and his mother may have lost her life for creating him.

“She never mentioned that the miraculous was broken.” Marinette noted while she skimmed through the pages back and forth as if she was looking for something, something that should have been a clue but she missed it at the moment, something important.

“You mean she didn’t know?” He inquired. “That would explain why she took it in the first place and why she kept using it even after she felt sick, if she did not know that it was the miraculous that was hurting her ...”

“I’m sure she knew, but did not think it was important.” She shrugged and pointed to a line in the diary that corroborated that claim, maybe, if one squinted, and used some imagination, a lot of it. “Besides, she did write that she wanted that one, to create things.”

“Or she thought that the miraculous simply had to be that way. That is what she told me once. It is okay to be broken, nothing has to be perfect. Father disagreed, they had an argument over that.” Adrien remembered. “I had to be perfect. She had to be perfect.”

“Nobody is perfect, kid.” Plagg smirked. “Except cheese.”

“Well, what one think is a virtue.” Tikki looked at Plagg. “Another one might find as a flaw.”

“It is just … I always had to be a different person around him. Sometimes I think my mother also acted around him, especially when Nathalie or someone else was around.” It was a fact that he was rather oblivious for other people’s feelings, Marinette was the proof.

“Perhaps we should stop now and continue tomorrow?” She whispered. There were many things to do the next day, not only in school, but regarding the kwami and their healing and training of the time travel miraculous holder.

“Yes, yes we should.” He confirmed. They put away the diary and the tablet and went to bed. Marinette held him while he cried, but then he stopped, wiped his face and asked to kiss her. He felt better, it was much better feeling, his brain was useless and stopped reminding him what he read.

So the two teens finally fell asleep like that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was a quick first reading (of the diary).


	27. A guest

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is about Felix, Lila and Amelie

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There will be two more chapters about what was going on at more or less the same time at different places.

A guest

It was an early morning study session in the library, Ms Bustier was busy with whatever school curriculum or her private obligations required and the kids were asked to spend their first class for the day quietly studying in the library..

Lila did not get Marinette akumatized and expelled because she was easy to quit. Oh no. She concentrated and eavesdropped on each conversation Felix had, she needed to know when he was going to be in his room, preferably without his mother.

Meanwhile she did slip a thing or two about her connections to students from other classes as her little fiasco with interview was slowly getting set aside if not yet forgotten and she did get an attentive listener or two to her tales that she told while she thought Rosa was too busy to listen.

Chloe began to find the presence of Felix as her seat mate acceptable. They had their own style of conversation and she always had a person to turn to when she wanted to pick a fight, but she was still able to use Sabrina to do her homework as well as help with the other assignments.

Felix did not approve of the way Sabrina was treated and he had chosen his usual boarding school look for that day, with black shoes, slacks, vest and a tie. He stood out in the crowd of students more than Chloe with her yellow designer jacket and make up ever could.

Adrien and Marinette were in their own world, they had some handwritten pages loaded on the screens of their tablets and they spend each and every free moment that they had to study what was written there. Felix was curious enough to snatch a tablet, but Adrien snatched it back instantly.

Alya, that pretentious journalist Ladyblogger girl was typing her next piece for her blog about … whatever she thought would be interesting these days while there was no akuma and she had no chance of getting an exclusive from a Chinese prison and did not bother her friends for one.

That study session, Felix found himself utterly bored in the library. The only subject that posed true challenge for catching up was French and he was not thinking about the literature but about the way people conversed with each other and their little word games.

He was determined to eavesdrop while he dealt with some worksheets. Thanks to heavens and Sabrina, Chloe was at another desk and pestered her best friend to help her with her tasks. Another desk hosted that Nathaniel guy and another boy with black hair that were too quiet for any use.

Ivan, Kim, Nino and Max formed one group while Alix, Mylenne, Juleka and Rose formed another and he was certain all the tasks were solved and explained by one person and the rest of them just copied the procedure and applied their own numbers.

Felix wanted a distraction, he needed a distraction, because if he got even slightly more bored, he just might actually work on his worksheet. And then the distraction provided itself, in a form he least wished for.

“Oh, hi, Felix, is this seat taken.” Lila was already taking a seat by his side although there were two more seats at the opposite side of the desk. Felix kept the bored expression on his face, turned forwards and did not bother with pleasantries such as ‘please take a seat’ since she was already seated.

“I was just thinking how this look looks far better on you.” One of her hands was on his forearm, another on his shoulder. He kept firm and motionless, set there as a stone, but darn, he needed to breathe, especially if he wanted to talk.

“It fits your personality much better.” She noted slyly. Felix was wearing that because it allowed him to blend in if not hide in plain sight, to pull pranks and get away with it for being such a polite boy otherwise, he was not wearing bland clothes because it reflected his personality.

“It really shows how classy you are. I’m so glad you joined our class. The two of us might get along so well.” Her hand sneaked from his shoulder into his hair. He was not having that, but he only frowned and made a face to warn her. She did return the hand to his shoulder.

“I know how hard it is to switch schools and countries.” She continued slyly. “I might be able to help you if you let me. In fact we might be able to help each other out.” Her other hand was moving up and down his arm, his body reacted. He frowned again.

“Some people in this class are … less than you want them to be.” She feigned being hurt. “I know we started off a bit roughly, but I want to give you a chance to get over our initial misunderstandings, get to know each other better and become friends. I know people, I could help you.”

If anyone knew people, it was his mother, and Chloe, and probably him and Adrien, but definitely not Lila, well she obviously knew Hawk Moth so maybe she had more connections in that department, but Felix seriously doubted that. One of her hands stroked his neck and the other his arm.

“Lila? What are you doing? I sent you to work on your worksheets on your own while I make a phone call to my supervisor and I find you all over this boy … Felix? Can’t you see that he is feeling awkward and uncomfortable?” Rosa was talking quietly, but they were in a library, everyone overheard.

“He is just feeling isolated and alone after he transferred schools and countries, I know how that is, I was just trying to make him feel better.” Lila feigned being hurt by the comments of her learning assistant, but at least she had to remove her hands off from the boy and he sighed in relief.

“Okay, we can sit here and work on your worksheets so he doesn’t feel so alone.” Rosa took the seat on the opposite side. There was no other choice if the two of them wanted to sit side by side. Lila switched seats and Felix realized he had unconsciously tilted away from her.

He had to work on his act more. With Rosa on the other end of the desk, he had no choice but to start to write something on those worksheets. Once he set his mind to it, it was easy to find answers and he still had a chance to overhear other conversations in the library.

Lila was delayed, again, after school, by her teaching assistant. First they had to go through all her notes and then she had to persuade the woman that she was perfectly able to finish the homework on her own, otherwise the woman would have kept her in school until finished.

She sneaked out from the library five minutes later, when she was certain to avoid the woman, and found her way out of school without being seen, or seeing anybody. Felix explicitly mentioned that he had no plans after school and he was going straight to the hotel with Chloe.

Lila sneaked around the hotel expertly, she could not go around unseen but she hoped for unnoticed, she reached the door and knocked. She heard some rustle on the other side. She waited patiently for a few moments, she was about to knock again when the door swung open.

“Hello, how can I help you.” A blonde woman with green eyes in an elegant dress asked her politely with a small smile on her lips. Amelie recognized Lila, but did not acknowledge her by her name, mostly because she could not remember it at that very moment.

“Hello, my name is Lila, I was looking for Felix. We go to the same class. You see I’m also a transfer student and … “ She spoke slyly about how she was there to help Felix with his school transfer and classes and worksheets and exams and avoided to mention her contract with Gabriel.

“Well, I’m Amelie, Felix’s mother.” The woman replied once Lila actually stopped talking. They did meet before in the Agreste mansion. “My son did not return from school just yet.” She stopped talking and waited for Lila’s reaction. The girl did no offer to leave and return some other time.

“The school finished, I was in the library to pick up a few things we would need for our studies and walked over here.” Lila explained. She pretended that her school bag was heavy from the books and she suffered just keeping them up. “Sorry, my arthritis is picking up.” She held her wrist.

“He might have mentioned that he has fencing this afternoon. He just made it into the academy yesterday, did he tell you how, it was so exciting, they seldom take new students and he made it in so exceptionally and it popped up as a surprise in his schedule.” The mother gushed about his son.

“Fencing?” Lila was certain that he mentioned he had nothing just a few hours ago. Did that pop up just for his mother or the boy really had fencing was an issue. Well she was not going to betray him, that was pure blackmail material if her instincts were right.

“Yes, fencing.” She smiled like a proud mother she was. “Oh, poor girl, he must have made plans with you before he learned about the changes in his schedule.” Amelie sighed. “I’m so sorry he must have forgotten to tell you anything about it.”

“Yes, I guess.” Lila feigned feeling hurt, she covered her eyes and pretended to wipe tears that just appeared there. “I’m so sorry to disturb you Madame Graham De Vanily. I just wanted to help him with his schoolwork, he is so alone there, nobody wants to help him out and I know how it was for me. “

Amelie knew acting when she saw it. It was her job to judge if someone was acting well or not, it was her job to employ people who were good actors and to employ people who knew when people were acting well. Lila was a good actress, but not that good to hide the fact that she was acting.

“Well, why don’t you come inside then?” Amelie decided she could use some company and study this girl a little more. At first she thought that Lila simply liked her son, but now she started to doubt that. This girl worked with Gabriel and Amelie wanted to know more.

“Why don’t you take a seat. Would you like some tea?” She offered and turned away towards the mirror to be able to see what the girl was doing while she did not know she was being watched. She also knew how Adrien and Marinette were always ready to help her son, it was him who avoided it.

Lila did not waste a single moment, she scanned the room, it was furnished like a small living room with three doors leading somewhere, probably to two small separate bedrooms and a bathroom. There were plenty of documents all around the floor, the writing desk, the coffee table, the chairs.

Lila pretended to look for a place to sit while she tried to read them. There were financial reports, ownership status, legal statements, law exceptions, licence agreements, she was getting dizzy from everything she’d seen. But it only confirmed that Amelie intended to take over the business.

“Thank you, but I prefer coffee. I guess that’s because I’m Italian.” Lila sat down to the only free chair there was (right next to her but she pretended to look further). She continued to read the documents that were close enough for her.

“Oh, we do have coffee here, but you wouldn’t call these instant bags coffee in Italy.” Amelie played with some brown packages. “I have an idea, why don’t I call up Audrey, her daughter Chloe goes to your class, we can go together to the cafe in the hotel.” She looked at Lila in the mirror.

“No, no, no, thank you very much for the offer Madame, but I am here just because of Felix, to help him with his schoolwork, nothing else, I didn’t mean to impose.” That was a scenario Lila intended to avoid. She was very much aware that Chloe organized the learning assistant.

Amelie read panic in the girl’s voice. So, she did not want Chloe around. This was the right moment to flip the record and resolve something completely different. And perhaps pave the way to interrogate about what she was truly interested in.

“Okay, then, I think we should resolve the issues that were raised with your contract with the Gabriel fashion. This is a copy of a contract that I want you to take to your mother.” She handed over the sheets of paper. “The simplest solution would be if she signed it.”

“Okay, thank you, I will make sure that she does.” _And if you turn around I might as well sign it for her and return it to you, but you’d be asking questions._ Lila thought. “Should I send it back through Felix or should I bring it back myself?”

“Bring it back, please.” Amelie knew her son to well. This was a test, a copy was sent formally to Mme Rossi through a lawyer, she wanted to know what would Lila do if this was given into her hands. “My son is so scatterbrained sometimes, like he forgot about his fencing today.”

“Oh, well then, I will make sure my mother signs this and I can bring this back tomorrow.” Lila smiled slyly and put the papers in her bag. She took her time, because her eyes were actually on one of the documents on the floor.

It was not a secret to Ameilie what Lila was doing, she observed the girl carefully both in the mirror and in person, she tried to see what was it that Lila was looking for, was there anything that drew her attention more that the other things.

“Lila, I saw your interview.” Amelie finally decided to go straight to the point. She needed to clarify if anything in those fifteen minutes of fame piece was even remotely real, if there was any truth in it. She was having her own investigation, fuelled by her own knowledge and facts long forgotten.

“Which interview?” Because she did make a few. “The first one that I did was on the Ladyblog?” It still was but with such introduction that she did not want anyone to look. “Or perhaps some of the later ones or ...” She looked at Amelie. “Or the last one.” There was finally a reaction.

“Yes, the last one.” The woman confirmed verbally to cut out any possible acting. “I want to know why my brother in law did what he did.” Amelie stated. She had her doubts, she had unconfirmed posts from a Chinese student, but there was no video, it might have been false.

“Oh, he wanted to protect Adrien. You see, it was my task to protect Gabriel’s son from the bad influence he had in school, especially from Marinette, then Nino, Alya and the rest of the class. Even Chloe and Kagami were bad.” Lila listed practically all Adrien’s friends she knew.

“Oh, really? What kind of a bad influence?” Amelie crossed her arms. This was not what she was looking for, but she did enlist her own son into that class so she might as well pay attention and learn more, or dismiss the claim, whatever this lead her to.

“Such improper behaviour, unfit for a person of his class and family.” Lila smiled slyly and feigned that she suffered just how lowlifes ruined everything. “I’m afraid it is too late for Adrien now, but you should be aware of the situation on Felix’s behalf.”

“I wouldn’t worry too much about that.” Amelie smirked. “It can only enrich a person if they make friends with persons from all kinds of origins and classes, with different life experiences and financial means. It can only enrich them as a person.”

Lila shrunk in herself, defeated, she was so certain she pressed the right buttons to get in favour of this woman, she did not expect it to hit her right back.

Amelie switched the subject and took her time to explain a few things about Lila’s contract and nudge the girl to make her mother sign the original (not the useless copy she had given to the girl) and finally sent Lila home about an hour after she arrived.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What about that mysterious fencing session?  
> And what was the rest of the crew doing?


	28. Parry

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Felix said he was doing fencing. And he was doing fencing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Back to Felix and Kagami ...

Parry

The second session of fencing was far more physically exhausting and far less emotionally draining than the first one for the two novice students in the Monsieur D’Argencourt’ fencing academy as the two secured their places and now faced their sparring partners.

Felix chose Kagami for his fencing practise and the fencing master did not object, he actually smiled approvingly at the duo and let them work on their own. Adrien quickly picked up Marinette to practise with her but the fencing master amended it so she took turns with the rest of the group.

Marinette either kept giving lucky strikes or there was some natural talent involved. She did score a point or two in each duel she took for practise. Most of the time, she was more surprised with her success than anybody else, afterwards she exercised some classic moves with Adrien.

It was a good distraction for the both of them, no diaries, no secrets, no superpowers, no sick kwami, no mysteries and secrets and magical rules and secret books hidden somewhere nor monks to consult in far away temple.

Felix chose Kagami for his sparing partner for the whole practice and she did not complain. The two attacked fiercely and it was hard to tell who scored a point let alone who would have won if that was a proper duel.

Kagami honestly enjoyed having a new opponent for practise. She got used to Adrien, she was able to anticipate his every move and strike back, it stopped to be a challenge. She felt good while she was kept on the edge and had to think about strategy and how to win her next point.

Felix was glad he had a chance to stay for fencing that afternoon. It was a substitute session for one they were supposed to have on Monday, but got postponed because it was a first day of school after holidays and everything else that was going on.

Kagami played well, in fact she was an extraordinary fencer, the best sparring partner he ever had and quite possibly the stronger opponent he ever faced, at lest his own age. He had to put all his effort and tricks in it and he did not always win. In fact, more often than not, she won.

He was getting tired of Chloe, yes she was annoying, but he was returning the favour, and that entertained him, at least a little bit. Perhaps it was that their mothers used to be some kind of friends that they got along so well, he would never admit it was because they were so similar.

The boy was actually glad Lila revealed what kind of a person she was that first morning. She used to be after Adrien, obviously, and he was becoming more and more certain that Lila was after him, if he judged after the incident in the library that morning.

He could have fallen for her tricks and bond with her over the fact that both were sort of outcasts and he might have believed she knew slightly more about Gabriel and Emilie, something useful for his mother, if she did not reveal herself as an attention seeker.

That girl had no self respect and no boundaries, personal or other, the interview she gave just after his uncle lost his magical pin was a farce, her attempt to get her own fifteen minutes of fame on the account of knowing someone famous.

The rest of the class remained indifferent towards Felix, and after first initial glares, the students first ignored him straight on, determinedly, but then the feeling settled into rather pleasant indifference. And Felix was rather satisfied with such treatment, he did not want to be bothered.

Felix had to focus on his opponent. He lost three consecutive attacks and the girl in the red suit started to ask questions if he got distracted. He was offended. He was definitely not distracted by Adrien and Marinette who trained in a parallel lane.

Adrien was helping Marinette to assume a certain position, fencing position, don’t get your minds dirty here, it was just a particular stance they assumed just before they made a move. But the boy resolved to do it properly.

He stood next to Marinette first. His hands roamed from her hands to elbows to shoulders as he corrected her posture, but then he tried to adjust her hips and used his feet to move her own and the girl squeaked. And he knew she was embarrassed.

Their masks were up, and Felix was able to see their goofy smiles that only proved what he already thought about both of them, they were pathetic and pathetically in love, it was like he was looking at some predictable cheap romance film on a Sunday afternoon.

Marinette quickly lowered her mask to hide her blushing face (and messed up the position of the hand that did not hold the sabre). Adrien smirked and leaned on even more eagerly while he waited to get scolded by the fencing master, who was luckily too busy watching the other pair.

Felix noticed the move his cousin was doing on Marinette. There was that awkward feeling in his stomach. Was it because they were doing something slightly inappropriate? But Felix knew that he was not so pure minded to judge about that, besides, that was legitimate help.

The boy quickly dismissed the feeling as neither disgust nor jealousy, because he really did not like Marinette that way. He found her pathetic, he really did, but he also found his own cousin pathetic and somehow they suited each other perfectly in that way.

He wasn’t annoyed that they were so close, he knew the feeling, Chloe reminded him almost the whole day. But somehow he longed to know why he was feeling that strange way about his cousin having a girlfriend and being so close to her.

“Hey, I was trying to reproduce your move for the last five minutes and I can’t really get it. Can you help me?” Kagami asked politely, but it sounded more like a request if not even an order in the way she pronounced the words.

Kagami overcame her annoyance and irritation at her opponent being distracted by the couple that pretended to fence in the parallel lane. She set aside any remaining jealousy, Marinette deserved to win Adrien and she was exactly what he needed at that moment, so it was a fair win.

Then she realized that the boy who was her current opponent might be the same expert fencer and at the same time lonely boy she learned to meet. It was strange how much he looked like Adrien and how much he was able to behave like him from time to time. It was time to change targets.

Yet, they were different and Kagami wanted to know more about this boy. In fact, she wouldn’t mind to learn more about him. Now that she made friends with Adrien and Marinette and at least an acquaintance if not yet friendship with Luka, she might try with this new boy.

“Did you mean this?” Felix inquired and tried to repeat one of his standard moves. He danced back and forth with his sabre high in the shoulder lever when he suddenly he lunged froward and put it slightly lower and to the side.

“No, I was thinking about this one.” She replayed something he did quite a few times the day before and only once that day. He tried not to repeat himself too much to be able to surprise the opponent so he tried different moves all the time.

“Okay, so something like this?” He repeated it exactly the way he always practised when there was no opponent.

“Yes, so you do this.” She nudged herself slightly to one side. “Then this.” She lunged forward and instantly pulled back only to move to the other side and lunge forward again.

“No, no, no, you got the last part wrong.” Felix shook his head. She was not supposed to go straight forwards but just slightly to the side to fool the opponent and actually produce a hit instead of getting only the empty air.

Without further ado, Felix decided to do exactly what Adrien did with Marinette and adjust Kagami’s move using his own hands. But he stood in front of her and grabbed her wrists to lead her move on himself.

Perhaps she was lighter than he expected (oh yeah), or maybe he expected more resistance for his pull from her side (could be), or he pulled _slightly_ stronger than necessary (keyword slightly), but they both tumbled down and Kagami fell on top of him.

“This was not what I was aiming to score.” Kagami muttered while she was looking for a place where to put her limbs (not on Felix’s body) to find leverage to get up one her feet, while the boy was not helpful at all. Then finally he jumped on his feet so quickly that it was him pulling her up.

“Sorry about that.” He did not sound sorry at all. “We can try again, if you please. What do I get for showing you the secrets of my fencing skill?” The boy was ready to pull up his mask and show the grin he had on his face but then decided to keep it on and play cool.

“Adrien and me often went for an ice cream after fencing.” She replied calmly. Well, they also escaped the practise or left early to spend some time together. And now he was just there with another girlfriend, the girl he obviously loved, as oblivious as he was of his feelings.

“Okay, so you are getting me some ice cream if I teach you how to do this.” This time Felix just pulled her intentionally and even placed his foot so that he trips her to land on him and then he laughed softly once they were on the floor.

“This is not a fencing move.” Kagami protested in her calm and composed way not giving away how she felt about it at all and it frustrated her partner, no annoyance, anger, frustration, attraction or even a hint of shame. Felix felt urged to try harder to get any sort of reaction from her.

“Why not? It could be our move.” Felix teased. He had no idea why he was doing it that way, he was not a flirty type, at least he did not see himself as one, except when he was totally acting to prank someone. But with this girl it just surfaced out from him.

“Why don’t we try some real fencing moves and go for an ice cream later and see about those other moves.” Kagami spoke calmly as if she did not just suggest something, and she did not, not really, comprehend how the words she spoke could be interpreted.

“I see you do not hesitate.” Felix smirked. Somehow he did not mind how forward this girl was, there was an idea in the back of his mind that perhaps she did not mean in that way and just blurted it out in her usual flat tone, he decided he loved being challenged by her like that.

“Never” Kagami replied and this time attacked exactly the way she was supposed to. Except Felix knew how she was going to move and knew how to counter-attack. He lunged forward instead to evade, let her sabre and the hand holding it pass between his arm and body and slammed into her.

They could not see each other’s faces, which was just as well because both of them remained expressionless, Kagami rather naturally while Felix did an effort. They heard a whistle. The fencing practise was finished and the fencers roamed around the locker room.

“Adrien, Marinette, I owe Felix some ice cream after today’s practise, would you like to join us?” Kagami invited politely. She was not the one to sulk because she lost (a boy, or a fencing duel, she accepted defeat with grace, and this time there were no lingering feeling of unfairness or injustice hidden beneath the surface).

“Are you going to visit Andre?” Adrien blurted out rather surprised by such a quick turn of events, he beamed towards Kagami, then Felix, then back.

“We can help you find it, but Adrien and me … we … well we have a project of our own .. sort of.” Marinette was looking for and excuse to escape early, but one look at Adrien changed her mind. “Actually, I’m sure we can spare some time to have an ice cream with friends.” She beamed.

The four teens left the school together, Marinette in her usual clothes, Adrien in jeans and a black hoodie with two green stripes (a gift Marinette made for him for any future occasion, rather useful now when the boy did not want to war anything made by his father’s company).

Kagami was in her usual red skirt and shoes, white jacket and black tights while Felix stood beside her in his white shirt and grey vest, black trousers and fine shoes and a tie. He observed her choice of clothes with interest, respect, amusement and even a hint of admiration.

“I’m glad you dress this way, I’m so used to the school dress code that I still dress this way. I tried to dress up as Adrien in the first few days to better fit in.” The boy explained at length to justify the fact that he was actually staring at Kagami and observed her from her feet to her head.

“That’s fine.” She shrugged. “Adrien and you are so much alike that I have mistaken you for him yesterday. Sorry.” She felt she needed to apologize for not distinguishing the two boys, and she felt slightly guilty if she was fooled and did not recognize he was not her former crush.

The ice cream cart run by Andre got located on Adrien’s phone swiftly and the two teens were surprised by a treat ‘on the house’ from the ice cream man once he recognized the pair before him.

“Peach, strawberry and blueberry for our young heroes. I wish you all the luck in the world and you will need it after that father, my dear Adrien.” He offered the cone to the kids and continued to thank them and praise them while they smiled and blushed in return.

Felix observed rather puzzled by the fact that the two shared a single ice cream, but decided it was just because they were a couple, or maybe because the ice cream wanted to save and give them only one cone or … he could not dwell on it, it was his turn.

“Oh, another couple, I see.” Andre smiled widely. “How about lemon for your hair and then orange for her eyes and a hint of black chocolate on the top?” Felix was confused, but Kagami did not hesitate, she accepted the offer and took the ice cream.

“We share the ice cream. That is the norm.” She explained and offered a spoon to Felix. The boy did not expect such a close and intimate exchange of food on their first meeting … socializing event … walk … time together … he refused to accept the word ‘date’ in his head.

“This is delicious.” He noted after a few spoonfuls of ice cream. His slight nervousness (only slight he would not admit to more even to himself and he stifled it inside rather efficiently) melted as fast as the ice cream in his mouth.

“Yes, I like this too.” Kagami admitted and put more ice cream in her mouth. She lead the way towards the Seine and a bridge over it and Felix followed dutifully, the girl and the ice cream, while they navigated they way through the crowd that gathered for Andre.

They found a place by the fence on a bridge where they stood, watched the Seine and ate the ice cream slowly. At first, Kagami led the conversation and asked him about the fencing schools he went to and who were his fencing masters.

“So … you went for ice cream with Adrien after fencing like this … often?” Felix was testing the territory, according to him this was a date, something shared between a boyfriend and a girlfriend.

“Well, sometimes, Adrien and his friends do this often.” She replied calmly. “We also went to that ship over there, that is where Juleka, one of Adrien’s classmates lives, and her brother Luka, they have a band, called Kitty Section, and Adrien played keyboards for them when we got there.”

“Keyboards? In a band?” Felix was surprised at first. “Of course, he practised piano a lot, because of his mother.” He added more quietly.

“Do you play any instrument?” Kagami inquired.

“I used to, but I stopped more than a year ago.” He shrugged.

Later, Felix started to talk about other things, they talked about their mothers, how they moved to Paris, how they found their lives once they moved into a new city and a new country. It was amazing how many things they found they have in common.

They did not even notice how anxious the other couple was to leave and deal with something else on their own nor how early Adrien pulled Marinette away from them and they disappeared in the direction of the Dupain Cheng bakery even before the couple reached the bridge.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now where did Adrien and Marinette go and why?


	29. When to Train a Time Traveller

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The question is rather academic.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Had to read this like more than five times over to be sure it make sense.  
> It does, to me.

When to train a time traveller

Adrien watched as Kagami snatched Felix away and nudged Marinette to look in the same way. It looked like a good turn of events, but Adrien was worried about Felix’s intentions, he still wanted to protect his friend Kagami, well aware that he used to be her crush.

Perhaps Marinette was the only one who found this most recent turn of events slightly too fast and too intense to be satisfying, she felt rather disconcerted by the fact that Kagami chose to take Felix to ice cream and wondered how much that was due to the boy’s likeness to Adrien.

That day Felix truly strived to be less like to Adrien in his appearance and Marinette finally relented not to follow them and try to protect their friend. In fact it was her who stopped and pulled Adrien to the side.

“Do you think it is a good idea to talk to Fluff now?” She asked quietly. “With what we planned for this evening, it might be useful to know what the rabbit kwami thinks about his chosen.”

“I always thought it was the kwami who had chosen me, not master Fu, but I guess I was wrong, it is us, the guardians who chose the wielders.” Adrien replied quietly while his eyes followed his cousin and Kagami as they walked through the crowd.

“I was choosing temporary wielders even before I became a guardian, master Fu let me.” Marinette shrugged. “Besides we have an advantage of knowing in advance who will be chosen because we have already met the wielder.”

“Exactly.” Plagg cut in as they were finally away from the crowd or any company. “And believe me, kid, it was me who chose you, not master Fu.” The tiny black cat smirked and watched the boy carefully, he wanted, no, he needed the boy to believe that.

“But it was master Fu who sent Wayzz to take our miraculous when we fought Feast sentimonster.” Marinette countered. She clearly remembered that night and the letter that shattered to her core, but Adrien looked as if he saw a ghost as the memories overwhelmed him.

“The guardian has more knowledge that us kwami and he can overrule our choices, Marinette.” Tikki chirped in. “And a wielder can use us against our will as well as disown us if they want to do so.”

They walked into the bakery, picked up a few treats, Marinette took a few carrots from the kitchen and they were in her room, pretending to do homework with a bunch of treats and carrots on the side.

“So, Bunnix suggested that we should consider giving her the rabbit miraculous.” Adrien smirked. He was excited to be a guardian and he wanted to give a miraculous to his friend. He was certain that they would need her in the future, because they saw how she will help them with Timetagger.

“But Bunnix also said she got the miraculous when Alix will grow up to be something like six feet tall?” Marinette was feeling a slight headache from the whole issue, Alix was definitely not six feet tall yet.

“Well, she said to talk, not to give her the miraculous.” He shrugged.

She hesitated at first, it was the time travel miraculous, but this was just a small talk, like guardians to the kwami, it was not like she was going to wield it or do time travel herself. Marinette opened the miracle box and took out the watch. Besides, she talked to the rabbit kwami before.

“Hello Marinette, my guardian.” The tiny rabbit greeted and bowed his head.

“This is Adrien, we are sharing the duties of a guardian.” Marinette motioned for the boy who was giddy with excitement and anticipation of this talk.

“Hi Fluff.” The boy smiled excitedly.

“Your future wielder asked us to discuss with you when we should let her have the rabbit miraculous.” Marinette suddenly became aware how odd the sentence was.

Adrien stared at her too. Fluff was not impressed.

“Oh you mean the girl who will wield me in the time you refer to as ancient Egypt?” The tiny rabbit was hopping all around the room and jumped high and in slow motion, since he was able to float. “Or wait, did Egypt happen to you before?”

“Egypt happened.” Adrien confirmed.

“Egypt still exists?” Marinette was confused.

“Oh good, I’m not supposed to reveal anything about the future.” Fluff hopped around nervously and then finally settled down and accepted a baby carrot that Marinette offered and nibbled on it determinedly. “So you actually know someone who was my chosen but is not my chosen yet?”

“Yes … Alix.” Adrien and Marinette exchanged a look. “She is a girl from our class, in school, she goes to the same school as us.” Marinette continued to explain. Fluff munched on the carrot with ears perked up because he was listening.

“And how do you know she doesn’t have the miraculous right now?” Fluff inquired. “And how did you learn about her identity?” The rabbit continued. “And how will she be chosen? And how do you know I have chosen her? Or will you chose her? Have you chosen her?”

“Kwami are not supposed to ask these questions.” Tikki warned. “It is the job of a guardian to help the kwami and chose their wielders.”

“We have met Bunnix before … “ Marinette tried to answer. “She came from the future and instructed us how to fight an akuma that arrived from the future too.”

“You mean from the past.” Adrien corrected. “She came to us from the past, she was hidden in that Egyptian piece in the Louvre, remember?”

“Akuma? Are there akuma around currently?” Fluff ignored the previous statement, he was obviously not getting the answer he wanted.

“Not right now, no, there used to be akuma around. Back then I was choosing the temporary wielders to help us, Ladybug and Chat Noir.” Marinette cut in, but then she remembered all the talks from the temple and how Fu never actually completed his training.

“Temporary wielders?” Fluff looked baffled with raised ears, wide eyes and his leg tapped nervously in the thin air.

“Yes, there are several temporary wielders who get to use a miracoulous for some time and then they return it to us.” Adrien explained with a patient smile.

“For some time?” Fluff scratched behind the ear with his foot.

“Yes, when we had particularly nasty akuma that we could not deal with on our own, because we are also Ladybug and Chat Noir, we would get a miraculous and give it to a person who would then transform and help us and return the miraculous to us after the battle.” Adrien spoke slowly.

“When … then … after?” Fluff scratched nervously behind his ear again. Marinette grabbed Adrien’s hand. They looked at each other. Of course this was not making any sense to the kwami that provided the power of time travel.

“How on Earth do you think you would give the power of time travel to anyone … temporarily?” The tiny rabbit inquired. “This is not the temple nor the cave nor the Stone Shack, nor the ...”

“Pema, a monk from Tibet was using the time travel miraculous temporarily.” Adrien beamed.

“Yes she did, but she belonged to the temple monks.” Fluff was persistent to prove a point that neither of the teenagers could possibly comprehend, according to him.

“She only took us to observe historical events and to teach us, we were not supposed to alter history ...” Marinette trailed off.

“Except that one time when it apparently did not matter.” Adrien added.

“Of course, Alix has to be a permanent wielder as soon as she gets you.” Marinette beamed. “Because she will travel back through thousands of years. It is impossible for me to just give her the miraculous and then ask for her to return it after one battle.”

Adrien scratched the back of his neck. He understood the concept completely, but the idea of giving a miracoulous to someone permanently straight from the first try was scary, not to mention that this was the time travel miraculous. The rabbit kwami looked satisfied.

“You know the identity of my wielder although you consider them a _future_ wielder because you already met her, in the _past_ ....” Fluff noted and hopped around some more.

“Yes, um, you see, we met Alix, she has this watch … “ Marinette looked at Adrien rather scared where this train of thought is going to bring them. “ … that she got for her fifteenth birthday. And it lit up and told her to take Ladybug and Chat Noir ...”

“And we knew what to do to set her, I mean future her, I mean Bunnix, the future superhero her … “ Marinette trailed off. It made sense in her head but it stopped making sense when she tried to translate her ideas into words, because it already happened. She only hoped that Fluff would get it.

“Yes, okay, my wielder got a message, she has the message portal.” Then he suddenly stopped in front of Marinette. “You’re Ladybug.” He jumped around and made one more circle, then stopped in front of Adrien. “You’re Chat Noir.”

“So you know the identities of our wielders too, why wouldn’t they know one of yours?” Plagg sounded as if he just woke up because of some annoying noise and was not happy about it.

“They say they are guardians and wielders and my wielder is from their school. Yet they ask when to give the watch that was already hers for thousands of years.” Fluff countered.

“Yes, she was in ancient Egypt due to an akuma, the Time tagger, and she got locked into a piece of stone, but she was older then than she is now.” Marinette tried to explain.

“She is much smaller now than she was then.” Adrien tried to clarify, it did not sound clearer to him. But Fluff nodded as if he understood.

“You mean she is ageing right now?” Fluff was incredulous.

“Cheese is ageing, kids grow.” Plagg muttered. Tikki could not decide if she was irritated or incredulous. Fluff was nice, but confusing when he talked shop.

“We call it growing up?” Adrien looked at Marinette for some support.

“Tell me … about the watch she has, what do you know about it?” Fluff inquired.

“She got a watch for her fifteenth birthday. It got a little damaged on that day.” Marinette was explaining.

“She destroyed a magic watch on the first day she got it?” Fluff was tapping the floor with his foot. It produced a loud noise.

“It wasn’t her fault she … was racing and gave it to me for safe keeping.” Marinette suddenly felt shivers go down her spine. “She was so upset that got akumatized into Time breaker because of that.”

“What, the watch got broken and it hosted a butterfly?” Fluff scratched behind his ear again, it was an obvious sign that the rabbit kwami was nervous.

“An evil butterfly.” Adrien corrected. “The butterfly wielder abused his powers.”

“Even better, so that watch got broken and infested with an evil butterfly.” Fluff hopped around again.

“No, the butterfly was in her skates and the watch got fixed due to Ladybug magic.” The girl continued. “Then, on a different occasion the watch activated once with a message, Alix approached the two of us and it was the time we fought Time tagger akuma in the Louvre.”

“It was an akuma that was able to travel through time and he dumped your wielder in the ancient Egypt.” Adrien tried to clarify.

“So my wielder already knows your identities.” The rabbit kwami concluded.

“Yes she does.” Adrien confirmed, because of the stunt Bunnix did at the Tvi studio few days ago.

“No she doesn’t.” Marinette replied at the same time, because the Alix they knew from class did not know their identities yet.

Fluff tapped the floor with one foot really quickly.

“I mean, Bunnix knew when she came from the future a few days ago.” The boy clarified.

“But Alix we go to school with doesn’t.” The girl explained.

“So she has _a_ watch.” Fluff concluded and stressed the word ‘a’.

“Yes, but it is not this watch.” Marinette held up the rabbit miraculous she took out from the miracle box.

“Are you the Chat Noir that will cataclysm the miraculous that holds me?” Fluff looked at Adrien.

“Bunnix mentioned something about that to me, as Chat Noir.” Adrien felt awkward, he felt guilty for a mistake he was yet to make. “I thought we were not supposed to know the future.” He protested if only to change the subject.

“You already knew that. My wielder has to be of certain age and strength to become the master of time.” Fluff spoke solemnly. “But I conclude from your story that for you, she is still just a small girl in school with you and haven’t completed the training in the temple.”

“Oh, but the temple is in China, we can’t send her there, and for seven years … “ Marinette trailed off. “We can send her there.” She concluded and looked at the box. “Using the horse miraculous.” She turned to Fluff. “And you can take care about the time.”

“Good, then I can take her to master Shi to train her.” Fluff concluded.

“We did not meet master Shi in the temple.” Adrien spoke and Marinette nodded to support his claim.

“You have been trained in the temple in this time we are currently in, right?” Fluff was hopping around again and nibbled on Marinette’s homework worksheet before she gave him another baby carrot.

“Right.” Adrien confirmed. “Sort of.” He added and looked at Marinette. “The temple was destroyed for about one hundred seventy years and then it got restored when we defeated the sentimonster that destroyed it.” Adrien looked at Plagg, the kwami was lightly offended, but silent.

“Well, master Shi lives in another time?” Fluff offered as an explanation. The tiny rabbit knew well how the concept of time was confusing for most of the people. “And perhaps she can travel to this time to train your classmate?”

“Of course.” Adrien scratched the back of his neck. This guardianship duty was something rather complex, or was going to be, never mind.

“So, when should she go there?” Marinette asked. “And _when_ she should go?” There were two whens there for a reason, she needed to know the moment she needed to pick up Alix and give her the miraculous and she needed to know at which time to tell her to go.

“She shall be summoned. The watch she already has will tell her when to go. If it works like you just said. You, the guardians, and the wielder of the horse miraculous just have to be prepared to send her to the Cave of Protection.” Fluff nibbled on the next carrot after that.

The two guardians were rather confused. But it started to make sense, they needed to wait for Alix to get her signal, then they needed to put her in the right place and practically any time was the right time, sort of, if they got it correctly.

“Each time travel miraculous wielder was trained in the same way.” Fluff mentioned while he jumped around, his last carrot was only half eaten. “I believe the girl that you are talking about was trained in the temple five centuries ago by master Shi.”

“Why didn’t you tell us that in the first place?” Marinette muttered. “This whole conversation seems like a total waste of time, right now.” She checked her clock, her homework was not going to write itself and she had plans for the evening. Fluff, the master of time, just took one more carrot.

“So we just have to send her to the right place?” Adrien asked and got confirmation before they fed the little rabbit kwami more carrot and put the watch back into the miracle box. “Say hi to Nooroo and Duusu.” The boy added just as he was ready to let Fluff get sucked back inside the miraculous.

“I can tell them anything, but their health is low because of the abuse of the miraculous by their former wielders. It is far easier to fix a broken miraculous that got damaged in a battle than a kwami broken by their wielder.” Fluff warned.

“Thank you Fluff.” Adrien smiled worriedly and let the watch rest in the miracle box. Fluff got sucked back inside and he turned towards Marinette, his fellow guardian. “So … we just have to watch Alix?” He knew it sounded far more simple that it actually was.

“Preferably without revealing ourselves as Ladybug and Chat Noir.” She added.

“And we have to find how to treat Nooroo and Duusu.” The boy fiddled with his ring.

“For all of that, we need Max.” Marinette concluded.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Basically, whenever Alix gets her miraculous is irrelevant it is when she is expected ...


	30. Secrets

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chat Noir and Ladybug make an appearance, Adrien talks to Nino about reading diaries, so does Marinette with Alya and finally, Chat appears at Marinette ready to continue with their investigation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a slice of life here.

Secrets

That afternoon, two heroes hopped over the rooftops and over the city while the Sun was falling idly. They made sure to be noticed by Alix, who practised her speed and skill on her rollers on a pavement along the Seine and waved to other Parisians who greeted them.

Andre was eager to treat them to ice cream, but both Ladybug and Chat Noir just finished the first treat less than an hour ago and were more in the mood for a chase above the rooftops than anything else, besides, they really wanted to avoid questions.

“Why haven’t we seen you for so long?”

“Is there an akuma?”

“What are you doing?”

“Where have you been?”

“Will you tell us who you are?”

“Are you working on the Hawk Moth investigation?”

“How are you?”

“Pawesome.” Chat Noir replied with a smirk, Ladybug rolled her eyes as a reflex. But then she laughed, if there was a time to make puns, it was now, after they won. She laughed and enjoyed the thrill of flying around just for the sake of flying around.

Chat twirled in the air, and passers by would admire him, until he landed awfully on a random body part in a way that just screamed pain, but with the protective magical suit on, he would jump straight back as if the fall was part of the show and continue on his way with a two finger salute.

Ladybug laughed at his antics, but then she knew it was Adrien behind that mask, and the cat themed hero just flew in front of a giant billboard for a particular fragrance, he smirked and winked at her and she got all flustered again, missed her footing and slammed straight into the billboard.

Chat cackled all the way while she slid down, picked herself up and launched her yoyo to continue on their route over the city. She glared at the boy, but her face was still flushed and a smile tugged her lips upwards.

“Okay, she will know we are still around and she can try to contact us.” Ladybug stated, out of breath on their stop on the rooftop of Francoise Dupont. It was as good a place as any to split up and say good night … well they both knew it was temporary.

“I’m glad you decided enough time had passed since our return from China to do this again.” Chat was glowing after the exercise and pure fun and relaxing activity, ever since they returned they were consumed by their friends asking questions and new problems on each step of their way.

“I thought they would stop about our identities but it seems they want to know even more.” She shook her head and looked around, the Sun was still up, just above the rooftops, but the streets below were already in the shade.

“They think there’s no point in hiding it any more.” Chat shrugged. “Anyway, as much as I’d like to linger, I have to collect food for Plagg and spend some quality time with my best bro and his little brother and I believe thee is dinner coming up at Lahiffe residence.”

“Yeah, not to mention we do have homework, like for real, and I still have to write it. I believe you did not do yours either.” She smirked. She was determined not to let her grades slip now that she was not fighting supervillains on a daily basis.

“Nope, I’m going to do that with my seat mate. I prefer discovering secrets when I’m with my girlfriend.” Chat Noir leaned in but Ladybug steeled herself and stepped away. She was still scared that their identities were too fragile, the events of a few nights ago (or the future) only confirmed that. They said their greetings and went their separate ways.

“Hey Nino?” Adrien called to his best bro. The blonde boy played a video game with Chris while Nino was busy talking with Alya over a video chat. Ella and Etta were screaming on the other side of the call. But Alya had to cut the call and Adrien used the opportunity to ask something.

“Yeah.” Nino shifted his attention to his friend. Adrien pulled his headphones out and made sure that Chris was still listening to the loud sounds from the game before he resumed talking.

“Did you ever keep a diary?” Adrien asked bluntly.

“Yeah, sort of, there is a notebook where I write about the musicians I like and stuff, but I prefer to keep that digital and include the links, why?” Nino replied in his usual easy way.

“So it is not some secret notebook where you pour all of your feelings, hopes and dreams, your secrets and everything you did that day?” Adrien clarified the question.

“Nah, I had to do it for a project in school, but I knew the teacher was about to read it so no. But you know all my hopes and dreams man.” Nino smirked.

“No, I wasn’t thinking like that. Um.” He wanted to ask if he kept a diary where he would write who he kissed and how many times and what he did with Alya but decided that it was wiser not to ask that question.

“Are you keeping a diary?” Nino raised his eyebrows. “And what do you write inside?”

“I had a file, locked up with seven passwords.” Adrien sighed.

“It had to be seven, like a fairy tale, how did you do it anyway?” Nino laughed softly. “Never mind.”

“Oh I could show you … anyway I wrote stuff in there about … well stuff … “ He turned towards Chris, he was not sure if the boy was listening.

“Oh, I guess it is rated at least teen and above.” Nino teased.

“Yeah, I did not write the explicit stuff there.” Adrien admitted, his cheeks burned.

“Yeah” Nino adjusted his red hat and looked away, he was red in the face too. “I think girls are more into writing diaries than the boys are.” He added.

“Is Alya writing a diary?” Adrien asked next.

“Can’t say I even want to know what she writes in there, dude.” Nino replied and looked away again.

“Yeah, sorry … um … what about your parents?” The blonde boy continued.

“My parents? What are you talking about dude?” Nino stood right in front of Adrien who was not playing much, just to keep Chris busy. Adrien leaned into the side and gave his friend a look, then he glanced towards Chris and then back at his friend and Nino stepped to the side.

“Sorry, it’s just … I got some diaries, written by my mother. I was reading that because I thought I would … get to know her better? Yeah! You know, make up for the lost time or something.” Adrien audibly swallowed.

“Oh.” Nino was not blushing any more, in fact the mood was suddenly solemn and sad. “So you are reading her diaries now?”

“Well, not right now, but last night I did and … “ Adrien glanced towards Chris who was deep into the game. “There is stuff there that … ugh … how do I even say this.”

“Not teen rated?” Nino offered.

“More like explicit.” Adrien sighed. “Especially when she writes about my father … “

“Whoa! Dude! Don’t even get in there! I don’t wanna know!” Nino shouted so loudly that Chris gave him a look and then turned back to the screen.

“Well, I guess I didn’t want to know either.” Adrien was completely red in the face but somehow sad. “But I still want to learn everything I can about her and there is other stuff in those diaries, not just that, you know.”

“Yeah, I guess.” Nino adjusted his hat.

“There was stuff when she was little and stuff that she did with her sister and .. “ Adrien smiled gently and tried to do his best to keep Chris in the game.

“Okay, I get it. You should read it then, but skip the awkward parts if you can.” Nino shrugged.

“If only it was that simple.” Adrien exhaled slowly.

Nino’s mother called them up for dinner and the boys had to stop the game.

“Hey girl, had a talk with Nino just before dinner. Your boyfriend and Chris are playing video games.” Alya was talking on the phone with Marinette.

“Yeah, well, good for him.” She had to peel her eyes away from the tablet before her. She did not play video games, she was trying to read centuries old diaries and sometimes it was hard to distinguish between the imagination and the reality.

“What are you doing? I thought you did your homework with Adrien during the study hour?” Alya inquired.

“Um, just a part of it.” Marinette rubbed her eyes. They did a worksheet or two, but most of the time they spent reading the same old diaries that Marinette had opened on her screen. She needed a break from that.

“Oh, well, I guess you had better things to do.” Alya wiggled her eyebrows although Marinette was not able to see her. But Marinette missed the point, she was too much consumed in what she was reading. That Therese really did not leave much to imagination.

“Alya, are you writing a diary?” Marinette asked without thinking about how out of the blue it was.

“Of course I am, you know that already, aside of Ladyblog and the school blog and my personal blog, there is a file with my name on it, but I’m not sharing if that’s what you’re asking … “ Alya teased..

“No, no, nothing like that. I would never share mine. I was thinking about … what we write inside. Do we ever intend to read it ourselves? What if my children read that? Would your mother let you read her diary? I mean … “ Marinette did not finish her thought.

“I guess what you mean. I’d like to read what my mother wrote in her diary when she was my age, it is probably different than what she told me she was like when she was my age.” Alya smirked. “I know I would probably conceal a fact or two.”

“Yeah, it would make an interesting reading.” Marinette smirked.

“Wait, did you stumble upon your mother’s diaries and are reading them now?” Alya exclaimed.

“No, nothing like that.” Marinette shook her head.

“Somebody else’s then. Or is it a novel?” Alya offered.

“It kind of is.” Marinette admitted. The stuff she was reading really did sound like a fantasy novel more than an actual life experience.

“I thought you were working on your homework, girl!” Alya laughed.

“I was, but I got distracted, somehow.” Marinette admitted.

“So what is it? Some nineteen century fashionista described what she was wearing day to day?” Alya teased.

Marinette hitched a breath, Therese really wrote what she wore each day, but it was like some basic description so only the woman who wrote understood, it was probably to keep track and not to wear the same dress with the same people twice if she was able to help it.

“I guessed?” Alya celebrated.

“Well, almost there, really, how did you do that?” Marinette decided that admitting to the crime was probably the easy way out.

“Call it my investigative journalist intuition.” Alya was really proud of herself.

Marinette snickered lightly.

“Anyway, back to journals.” Alya was whispering. “I once stole Nora’s journal and read it.”

“Yeah?” Marinette did not hear that story before.

“It was a total bore. How many weights she lifted and which sparing partner she trashed.” Alya whispered. “Even when she wrote about the guys with hard abs, I think it meant it hurt to punch them. The reading was totally not worth her potential wrath if I got caught.”

“So you returned it without finishing.” Marinette concluded.

“Yeah, I just flipped through pages quickly.” Alya confirmed.

Marinette nodded. If they did the same with Emilie’s diary, they would never go beyond ‘white cup with green leaves’, ‘tin clock’, London postcard and other notes. That way she would never read about a sentimonster Emilie created.

“Why, you think there was something more in there?” Alya asked because Marinette was quiet.

“No, not necessarily.” Marinette replied. She really did not want to know the consequences if Nora caught Alya reading her diary. But she should have known that Alya was too curious and pushy to let it go just like that.

“You know what, Nora is out and told us not to wait for her, see you tomorrow girl, bye.” Alya greeted.

“Don’t … just don’t get caught, okay?” Marinette sighed.

“Don’t worry, I won’t.” Alya replied and cut the call.

Marinette was almost finished with the diary of Therese de Vanily, married Graham de Vanily. It began as a diary that listed her activities, then her travel to China by boat, and how she met Oliver Graham, it would have been more boring if she did not describe her dresses and jewels.

But then the woman described about her wedding, the rings they stole from two monks, she did not bother to write their names, and how they got teleported into Tibet and how they travelled back to the coastline first by foot and then by river boat.

“Hey Princess.” He greeted her through his rooftop window.

“Hi.” She greeted back with a tired but still happy smile.

“Nino must think I’m obsessed with my beauty sleep.” Chat teased while he descended through the rooftop window and down the ladder that lead to her bed. He was trying to make as little noise as possible, it was still early, her parents might be awake.

“Well you are beautiful.” She noted while she checked the marked pages of the diary the file on her tablet. Then she realized what she just said, blushed and slapped a hand over her mouth.

“Yeah?” Chat smirked at the way Marinette still got flustered like that.

She just nodded shyly. There was no way to take it back and no purpose. He already knew.

“I think your mother read this diary and became obsessed with visiting China to see it for herself.” Marinette noted while she flipped through the pages to show a few drawings of the scenery and the mountains that Therese made on the pages.

“If it was written by Therese, then yes it was.” Chat confirmed. “My mother even persuaded Amelie to read it and according to the notes, my aunt thought they used something, some of the stuff they were selling, something that should have been illegal, or was, or is, I don’t know.”

“ That talk with Fluff this afternoon really had an effect on you. Yeah, they travelled to China to sell opium. ” Marinette confirmed.

“Great, my family, the supervillains and drug dealers.” Chat mocked. And he really meant that. His father used to be Hawk Moth, his mother wielded a miraculous created a sentimonster and got sick, his aunt raised a sentimonster as her own son …

“Hey, I think it was the norm back then.” She shrugged. It wasn’t helping. “I searched through the internet, it really was and the trade was like … big? Anyway, will you detransform if we are going through this.” She pointed towards the diary she almost finished reading.

“Nah, we have many things to do tonight.” Chat shrugged. “I thought we better start off right away.” Besides, he was not in the mood to find out that his mother’s family started of as some kind of drug dealers.

“Well, we better get going then.” She said, took the glasses out from the miracle box and put the box hidden as a gift wrap back into the trunk where she kept the other gifts for Adrien (many of them unpacked and in use now). “We are getting Max and then we are going to the mansion.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cooking it up ...


	31. After Hour

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ladybug and Chat Noir pick up Max because they need Peagasus to retrieve the tablet and the book.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I might be slightly inconsistent here and with myself ;)

After hour

Of course Max was home and wide awake, it wasn’t late yet, he was busy with something on his computer and talked with Markov while they worked. Ladybug and Chat Noir landed on his windowsill and knocked on the window.

The boy turned around quickly and smiled when he saw the two heroes. He got up and walked over to open the window while Markov made sure all the files and their work was properly saved, noted and marked in their notes.

“Hello Max, we would need your help to fetch a few things we need for investigation on the works of Hawk Moth.” Ladybug explained to the bespectacled boy. She hoped that would be sufficient explanation for the moment.

“Of course, I’m ready to help out, just tell me what you need, Ladybug.” Max beamed. He did not expect to be called back to be a hero ever again, especially after the fiasco against the Miracle Queen, but the villains were defeated and the times had changed.

“Max Kante, this is the miraculous of the horse, it gives you power of teleportation. You will use it for the greater good and you will return it to me after our mission.” Chat Noir grinned as he recited the words, he enjoyed the role of the guardian so much it was disconcerting.

“Yes, great, can I put it on?” Max smiled, took the box and extracted the glasses. A flash of light radiated and a tiny kwami shaped as a horse formed while Max replaced the glasses on his eyes. He was surprised to see how the miraculous matched his prescription glasses.

“Of course.” Chat giggled as he watched his friend put on the glasses. He turned towards Ladybug with a giddy smile on his face and she smiled back. She knew what the plan was and what it included and let him have fun now, without any interference.

“Greeting Max, my glorious and famous wielder, I’m honoured we meet again.“ Kaalki recognized the boy and greeted with an exaggerated bow. Both heroes chuckled at the greeting and the wording but did not interrupt the two this time.

“Kaalki, full gallop.” Max called and transformed into a horse themed hero. He loved the feeling of the power that washed over him and he enjoyed to be useful and help the heroes with whatever problem they faced now.

“Can I come along?” Markov asked timidly. The tiny being was there the first time when Max used the horse miraculous and was in fact helpful in the battle against the akuma, besides, they all knew that the tiny robot was anxious when separated from the boy who made him.

“By all means.” Chat smirked. “We might all use your help with this one.”

“Please join us, you are the part of the plan.” Ladybug added.

They were running over rooftops towards the Agreste mansion. Peagasus stopped for a brief moment when he saw the house and realized where they were going, of course, the heroes mentioned Hawk Moth so it was expected.

Ladybug swung through the window of Adrien’s room first, she landed firmly on the floor and waited for the others. Peagasus was surprised he was next to enter the room of his classmate since Chat Noir was the most reluctant of the three to join them.

“We are looking for a book and … or a tablet where important information about how miraculous can be used and we suspect that Gabriel Agreste or his assistant Nathalie Sancoeur still have them while they are in prison in China.” Ladybug explained.

“We are helping police with the investigation and we need to learn what Hawk Moth was doing.” Chat Noir cut in, he did not want to explain about the sick kwami nor his mother nor his father and his assistant nor … he just did not want to explain it.

“We are going to teleport to the cell where they keep Nathalie first.” Ladybug decided. “Now we would need Markov to help you find the right coordinates, we’d like to hit the right cell from the first try, step in, do what we need to do and step out.”

“It is three in the morning in China, she should be asleep.” Chat added to clarify the plan, if that was even needed, because he was facing Max and Markov, who probably knew that already, he scratched the back of his neck nervously.

Ladybug looked at him worriedly, she asked with her eyes if the boy was ready for this. They could have chosen literally any point as a starting point, his room in the Agreste mansion was chosen strategically, for him to prepare for meeting the persons he was about to see.

Meanwhile, Markov was busy and discussed something quietly with Peagasus. Chat Noir returned his attention to Ladybug and gave her one firm nod with lips firmly shut into a thin line, yes there was fear in his eyes, but he was determined to overcome his demons.

Peagasus and Markov finally agreed on something and the hero took a step back, he concentrated and motioned with his hand, he created a portal.

The orange glowing disc stared at them and offered them a passage but did not yet reveal what awaited for them on the other side. Ladybug finally assumed the role of the leader and stepped into the disc, followed and Peagasus and Markov and finally Chat Noir in the end.

Peagasus straightforwardly ignored the person that slept on the bed, him and Markov instantly devoted themselves to a search for a book or a tabled between the things that were neatly packed in a suitcase on the floor.

Ladybug glanced towards the woman only to make sure she was fast asleep. She noticed a tablet by her bedside, but she recognized it as the tablet that she always carried with her, her official working tablet, there was probably some useful information there, but she refrained from taking it.

Meanwhile, Peagasus and Markov quickly located a few thin books that were far too new to be Book of Lore and on a first glance did not contain any magical secrets, and a spare tablet they extracted from the bottom of the bag.

“This is it, this is the tablet, I remember it from master Fu.” Ladybug muttered while she observed when the tiny robot extracted the tablet from Nathalie’s bag. She took those two steps to close the distance and inspect it from close by.

“It is dark, but I’m sure we have found the tablet we were looking for.” Ladybug whispered. “Quick, try to find the book while we have time to go back through the portal.” She turned towards the orange glowing disc in the background that hid the entrance to the cell.

Chat observed Nathalie sleeping on the bed, she looked slim, pale, her face tired and worried in a frown. He expected her to wake up at any moment and give him his schedule as well a pass some scolding from his father.

That was the woman that he saw as a sort of a replacement for his mother, she took care of him, sort of, because she made sure he was on schedule, which meant care by her standards, and he began to hope that her and his father were getting close.

How blind was he? No, in fact, he wasn’t blind at all, they were getting closer, much closer than he dared to hope for them (and he wanted to know actually) they did get together and close and … if he overheard that correctly that night, even slightly intimate, but only because of the miraculous.

“We only found these few books and we doubt there is anything you were looking for.” Markov noted quietly in his robot kind of a voice. “My translating abilities tell me these are some legal regulations and a tourist guide.”

“I’m not sure what we are looking for.” Peagasus scratched behind his back. “But the only things left in that suitcase are clothes and toiletries.” And the boy was rather reluctant to just dig through woman’s underwear of hygiene stuff.

“I can’t find the book.” Ladybug rummaged through the remaining things. “Let’s go back before anyone sees us.” She glanced towards the orange glowing disc and then towards Chat Noir who towered above Nathalie.

Ladybug let Peagasus take the tablet through the portal with Markov that hovered just by his side and went to take Chat’s hand. She held his hand firmly and heard him sigh, he was obviously fighting some internal battle overwhelmed with memories and emotions.

“Let’s go.” She whispered and pulled his hand lightly. He slowly turned away from Nathalie and followed Ladybug through the portal. He managed to wipe the wetness from his eyes before he stepped through so that Peagasus would not notice his distress.

Peagasus closed the portal and observed the tablet in his hands, it was an older model, but a good one, it was probably a cheap one, it did not look like a piece of equipment that a fashion mogul would get for his assistant even when it was new, it had no style.

“Hawk Moth and Mayura stole that tablet from the former guardian.” Ladybug explained. “It doesn’t belong to them, it never belonged to them so this was not theft.” She read concern with Markov and Peagasus as they inspected the item.

“I guess so, this is not a kind of a model that would be chosen for business purposes, this is more fit to serve other purposes, like a toy for kids or a device to read books or … “ Peagasus trailed off. His miraculous signalled his time was about to expire.

“You can detransform and feed your kwami now, we are going to check if Gabriel has the book.” Ladybug told Peagasus. “The book also belongs to the guardians and not a former villain so we are merely doing what is right.”

Perhaps she was supposed to tell him that before they ventured on their first voyage, perhaps it never occurred to her that what they were doing could be seen as theft by an outside observer, until they walked into a room that held a sleeping woman and took something from her bag.

Max detransformed and fed his kwami. Horses apparently loved carrots too, although the kwami would appreciate some grains too, or dried grass, but carrots were far easier to obtain or excuse their existence when carried around.

“Chat, you can stay here, it might be easier for you.” Ladybug turned towards her partner, well right now she was looking at Adrien, because the boy was obviously emotionally impacted by the encounter he just had, and not in a good way.

“No, I want to go.” He raised his eyes determinedly. Maybe it was Plagg who gave him strength, maybe he just decided to face the wall and climb it, maybe he was truly able to face his demons and win, whatever it was, this boy wanted to face his villain father.

“Are you sure?” Ladybug spoke quietly, she took his left hand in her right and put her left hand on his right shoulder. She looked at him straight in the eyes, those green eyes that were so easy to find in the dark room, and could see her much better than she was able to see him.

“Yes! Yes I’m sure.” He smiled gently, because with her by his side he felt ready to face anything, his own father included, just like he did, about a week ago, when they won, and disclosed his identity to the world.

“Okay then.” She smiled back. This one was going to ba much harder on him, he did see Nathalie more than he saw his father, but he was his father, his own family, it was different, he needed to do this, he could not step away and let Ladybug do it for him.

Kaalki munched on the food while Max was rather preoccupied while he studied all the gadgets that Adrien had in his room, well, the boy did not touch anything, he merely observed and admired, with glowing eyes and a huge goofy grin on his face.

“Okay, I’m ready, my honourable master.” Kaalki announced. Suddenly, all the justifications from Ladybug earlier seemed … justified? Because this kwami absolutely prioritized virtues of his wielders (and apparently wielders of his fellow kwami).

Peagasus transformed again and consulted Markov for a while until they reached an agreement.

“Voyage” The horse themed hero focused and created a portal with a move of his hand while Ladybug and Chat Noir stepped closer. Markov never left his side. They entered straight into the portal as soon as it was created.

As soon as they stepped through the orange disc they found themselves in Gabriel’s cell. They were fast and noiseless but the man was awake, he probably did not sleep much judging from the dark circles around his eyes and the reading material that was scattered all around him.

The man was reading something on the tablet when he got interrupted by a portal that formed in his cell. Chat Noir was the first one who jumped closer, the hero placed his left hand over Gabriel’s mouth and raised his right hand.

“Do you know what this hand does?” He wiggled the fingers on his right hand. The boy knew that the monks made him forget the memories from his former life, but judging from what he was reading on the tablet, Gabriel took his time to get the facts back.

Gabriel made one firm nod. He saw cataclysm in action on numerous videos either stored on his cloud or on that Ladyblog and even on other sources, he was not sure that this so called hero never used that on a person and was not about to find out.

The second thing that occupied his attention was the ring on the said hand, that was the ring he wanted, that was the ring he needed to make a wish, so he stared at the ring on the right hand of the boy, not into his eyes and did not see anything that was going on in there.

Peagasus, Markov and Ladybug were searching for the book quickly through all the items scattered around the tiny cell, it was a mess, because the man did not have his assistant to organize it for him, and he did not feel the urge to tidy it up himself.

Gabriel noticed the spotted heroine as she rummaged through papers in search of something, he wasn’t sure what she was looking for but he had an idea. Then again, he focused on her earrings, she was so close, if he only reached.

Chat strengthened his grip in his left hand and wiggled the fingers on his right hand once again to catch the man’s attention back to himself. He noticed where Gabriel’s attention was and the boy was determined and focused on the task ahead of him.

There was time to contemplate on whatever he felt about this later, there was plenty of time to feel sad or dejected, there was time to become indifferent or unaffected by the actions of this man, right now he had a work to do and Chat Noir held the man down.

Gabriel placed his hand over the wrist of Chat’s left hand, the one that covered his mouth and finally turned his eyes towards the eyes of the hero that held him, but the hero paid attention to where the villain was moving and did not meet his gaze.

The man’s hand gripped on the black leather firmly and drew his attention, Chat Noir clearly saw it had a wedding ring on. At any other moment and if the situation was different, it would have been a sign of a man mourning his wife, but now it was a sign of a lunatic.

Gabriel had to remain quiet, Chat’s hand was over his mouth and another hand was so close to his eyes he was scared of getting injured from the claws. He raised his other hand to cover his face and protect himself instinctively.

“Got it, got the book, let’s go.” Ladybug announced while she pulled the book from a pile of clothes and other things by the bed.

They escaped back though the portal, Chat Noir was the last to leave and he did it backwards, his eyes never left Gabriel who remained laid on the bed and watched as the heroes and the book disappeared through the portal.

He forgot to shout, he forgot to ask for help and he wasn’t sure who was going to believe him. Well, he did not really care, he had a copy of the book that included some of the explanations and the meanings of certain signs, it was far better than the original.

Peagasus closed the portal as soon as Chat Noir was through and there was a common sigh of relief, even Markov produced a “Pehw”.

The next moment Peagasus detransformed into Max because his glasses were issuing his last warning before his time was up. The boy caught a tired tiny horse in his hands and produced more tiny carrots and some grans to feed him.

“Thank you Max.” Both heroes grinned. “Chat Noir will take you back home now.”

“Thank you Ladybug and Chat Noir, I’m always pleased to be of any help.” Max replied politely and returned his miraculous. Ladybug took the book and the tablet into her yoyo, somehow and Chat Noir put Max on his back and they left Adrien’s room and the Agreste mansion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been trying to post this for the last two hours!


	32. Healing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time to heal the two kwami, more work than expected.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, master Fu did it rather easily on Tikki, but this is a bit more work

Healing

Max waved at the heroes as they left him in his room. It was past his bedtime, but his mother was studying for her exams and nobody found it particularly odd for the boy to be awake at that hour even on a school night, it was Markov who made sure his little human got sufficient sleep.

Chat Noir stored the miraculous in the pocket of his suit. They were going back to Marinette’s to pick up the miracle box and then they were going to his room to try and heal Nooroo and Duusu, at least that was the plan and Ladybug did not change her mind so far.

“I was thinking of staying at home a little bit to study the book on my own, I don’t want to carry it around together with the box and the instruments, it just seems too much and all at once.” Ladybug noted while she stored the glasses in the miracle box and detransformed.

Tikki nibbled on a cookie at the desk and Chat Noir detransformed in the background, he was not going to complain about postponing the return to the Agreste mansion nor his room. It carried a certain feeling for him, a melancholy and loneliness he did not feel ever since he left it.

Marinette was hunched over the desk and studied the tablet with the notes from master Fu. She had her own copy so she was familiar with the most of it, but there was more information there, mostly with question marks, as the old master was not sure how to interpret certain lines.

“I can’t find anything in here.” Marinette frowned as she studied the contents of the tablet with Tikki on her shoulder. She tapped her fingers on the sides of the tablet nervously ans she flipped through the pages rather quickly because she saw most of it already.

“Can’t say I understand this all, or perhaps anything at all.” Adrien shrugged as he peeked over her shoulder. He concentrated on the marks on the tablet with an ambition to use his knowledge of Chinese to decipher those words into plain and simple instructions for use.

“Why don’t you try the book if you went through the trouble of retrieving it.” Plagg teased more than suggested as he nudged the book that sat on the table.

“Hush, you are not supposed to read it anyway.” Adrien replied.

“Then why is Tikki on Pigtails shoulder?” Plagg protested.

Marinette sighed, produced one more cookie from a jar and pointed Plagg towards a piece of cheese on a plate on her desk before she picked up the book. It was heavy, it had hard outer wraps and it smelled, well old and something else, not necessarily inviting.

“I don’t even know why I’m doing this, there is no way I could understand any of this. I mean my Chinese is so bad … “ The girl rambled, but then she opened the book and flipped a few pages there. Suddenly those marks carried meaning to her, not all but some did.

“I … I can read this! I understand this!” Adrien exclaimed and Marinette put her hand over his mouth, he was a bit too loud for this time of the night, although her parents were probably asleep and did not hear him.

“I see, so the cure … a cure … any cure … “ Marinette was going over a page that described a butterfly hero and their kwami but there was nothing specific, nothing to hold on to, just a simple standard procedure reference.

“Okay, let’s look for Nooroo.” Adrien proposed and reached for the page to turn it. Marinette nodded and after a flip they reached the page with the peacock miraculous description. Again, there wasn’t much to do there.

“It looks like playing some loud bangs is the only thing that can cure them.” Marinette noticed. Her eyes studied the notes once more, she looked for a sign, anything that would mention illness or a cure, but there was nothing, literally noting more on that.

“Why can you … “ Adrien pointe to the book and looked at Marinette. “How can you read this and not the instant noodles?” He looked at the book. “And why can I read and understand this so easily while I wasn’t able to read anything on that screen.”

“I only understood what master Fu interpreted.” Marinette acknowledged. “The signs and the pictures did not tell me much except that it was somehow linked with different heroes. But this .. “ She put her finger on the book. “This is the cure.”

They both look at the two kwami but they got no answers there.

“Perhaps the book itself is protected by magic?” Adrien wondered. “So only the guardians can read it and truly understand what it means.” He grinned. He really liked the idea, if he was right, that would be the first proof that he was indeed a guardian, just like Marinette.

“Master Fu had the book only for a short while and then we only made copies for him to read, no wonder he had so much trouble understanding the instructions for the magical enhancement potion.” She smiled.

“Do you think my father understood any of this?” He inquired as he looked at the book.

“Maybe a little, maybe he understood it wrong.” Marinette shrugged. Adrien was not ready to go further into that.

“Well then, I guess that means we are good to go. I can fetch the bag from the balcony after we transform.” Adrien shrugged. “I left Camembert there on my first visit, I did not want your room to smell of that.”

They both transformed, Chat picked up a bag and they hopped over rooftops towards the Agreste mansion. They detransformed there and opened the bag. Marinette produced a box with cookies while Adrien demonstratively pinched his nose while he extracted a bag with Camembert.

“Okay, then, Tikki, dig in.” Marinette opened a box with cookies, the tiny red goddess of creation pounced inside with a grin on her face. She was able to eat slowly when she wanted to, but that would have taken all night, this time she ate the treats quickly.

“Ugh, at least it smells less after you eat it Plagg.” Adrien produced a few wheels of Camembert from the bag and opened it. The grin on Plagg’s face said it all, the cheese got annihilated rather quickly.

“So, basically, once we get the kwami to materialize from the brooch and the pin we have to perform this.” She pointed to several lines in the book. It did not looked like much, just a few signs that could have meant anything.

“These are just a few chants and happy thoughts and we bang those two plates.” He smirked. He looked around, he was really looking forward to producing so much noise in his room and in this empty house, because that used to be forbidden while he lived there.

“Yes Adrien, and we just speak a few words and transform or call our powers.” Marinette teased. The power different words had in the world of magic was amazing and terrifying at the same time, she really had to think what she would say.

“I’m finished.” Tikki announced while she picked up the last crumbs from the bottom of the box. She was still chewing her last bite. Marinette was unable to explain where did all those cookies go because her kwami was the same size she was when she started on the cookies.

“You know, kid, I wouldn’t mind a wheel or two of Camembert after we finish.” Plagg teased his chosen, who was not surprised at all that the cheese was already eaten nor that it had no effect on Plagg’s size, whatsoever.

“I have one more piece and this one is only after we finish so we can come back home.” Adrien smirked, of course he had a stash of cheese for later, it was a habit, it was something that he always had, for such a long time.

“I have a few more cookies for that.” Marinette added to Tikki who just swallowed her last bite. They both transformed in two flashes of light.

“Okay, one by one, I’m going to take the brooch.” Ladybug spoke and opened the box. She took the brooch and sat down, instantly, she felt tired, as if her power was sucked out from her, she sat on the floor and held the brooch in her hand, if she went unconscious, she should drop the brooch.

Chat looked at her with worried eyes. HE understood now why master Fu had his own miraculous and his own kwami, Wayzz was probably good in giving a protection power from all the negativity that could have been found in sick kwami or something.

He entertained himself with the memories and the fact that he saw master Fu transformed only once and only in the end. Then finally Duusu popped out from the brooch, on the palm of Ladybug’s hand, tired and motionless, he did not float but just laid flatly.

“You will have to do it while I hold him.” Ladybug told Chat. Her voice sounded forcefully cheerful, she was tired, he was able to tell, it was taking a lot from her to bring this kwami out and now it was his job to heal the kwami, and help Ladybug by doing so.

Chat took the instrument and started. He hummed, he chanted as much as he knew how to pronounce those words and then he banged the two lids. It was loud. It was really loud. It echoed around his cavernous room, therefore it was probably louder than needed. He grinned.

“Try to bang it less hard, I’m certain it was not this loud when master Fu did it.” Ladybug warned quietly, her voice still sounded tired and Chat felt slightly guilty for banging so loud, maybe he exhausted her further with that.

Chat Noir repeated the procedure. This time not so strongly as the first time. And then he repeated it again.

Duusu started to move after the third cycle.

Chat Noir repeated the procedure once more. He checked with Ladybug who only offered one firm nod. She concentrated on the kwami in her hand and hummed along.

Duusu opened his eyes and stood on the palm of Ladybug’s hand.

“Duusu?” She asked.

“Yes Ladybug, you are my guardian now.” The kwami bowed lightly and shakily.

“Oh, don’t push yourself too hard.” Ladybug smiled. “Chat, try one more time, please.”

Chat repeated the chant and banged the lids lightly.

But Duusu did not seem much more awake than he used to be.

“Why don’t you eat some food and tell us how you feel.” Ladybug asked.

“I feel very well, but my powers are weak and I will need more cycles of healing to be recovered to my full strength.” Duusu replied as he slowly chewed the food he was given.

They wanted to repeat the procedure with Nooroo but Ladybug’s earrings beeped and she detransformed soon after she returned the brooch to the miracle box. The pink light faded and she caught exhausted and hungry Tikki.

“I guess I will be playing the music from now on.” Marinette smirked and took the lids in her hands, tired and worn out but emboldened by their previous success she was ready to face the next challenge although she was not supported by the magical suit.

“You could try it on me first, Marinette.” Tikki suggested as she slowly floated down to the bed. Chat watched her with concern, he never saw his own kwami that tired, unless he was asking for more cheese in a particularly dramatic way, but even then it was an act.

“Oh, Tikki, you poor little kwami, of course.” Marinette cooed and got on her knees beside the bed, she stroked her kwami gently while Tikki watched the girl with tired blue eyes, her tentacles laid flatly on the cover.

Chat showed Marinette what to do once, then she repeated the procedure and concentrated on her kwami. After about fifteen minutes and several cycles, Tikki was much better. The tiny goddess of creation munched on a cookie and observed.

“I will take the pin.” Chat decided and opened the miracle box, his eyes flicked towards Marinette, the girl looked tired too. The whole procedure exhausted her too, he had to take his share. He had to face that demon sooner or later. He was the guardian. He reached for the pin.

Marinette and Tikki observed quietly as the boy in the black superhero suit reached for the box and stopped to observe the pin before he took it in his hand, he cradled the miraculous that used to be wielded by his father who used it to terrorize the city.

“This is what my father wore when ...”

“This is what he used to create all those monsters that attacked us ...”

But the kwami did not appear. The pin and the crystal sat there as if they were just any piece of jewellery bought at a shop outside, nothing was happening, Marinette watched with tired eyes and breathed slowly. Tikki floated just above the girl’s shoulder.

Nothing was happening and the suspense was starting to feel like too much. Marinette performed the chants and banged the instrument a few times times just in case, it may help, there was no damage if she did that, right? But Nooroo remained hidden in the pin.

“Perhaps I am too weak since I’m untransformed.” Marinette looked at Tikki.

“No, Marinette, it is not that. Nooroo used to be used for negative things to explore negative emotions.” Tikki countered. Chat remained still, sitting on the floor and stared at the pin intently, there was no telling what was going on inside his mind.

“What should I do then, feel more positive?” Marinette inquired.

“You can try.” Tikki shrugged.

Marinette deflated a little as she bent over the pin and concentrated, she needed something positive, but all she felt was tired, it was already past bedtime and she had a busy day, she did not notice when Chat raised his eyes and saw her worried face.

“I know how to make you feel more positive.” He smirked, let the pin stay on the palm of his hand while he raised the other hand to her shoulder.

Chat pulled her into a kiss. She was surprised at fist and it took a moment for her to realize what was going on, but both of them forgot about the Agreste mansion and the kwami and the pin and the lids and there were just the two of them for a moment.

He was feeling weak, he thought it was because of the kiss, but they separated, he leaned back and his head collapsed back onto the bed behind him, while a violet kwami finally appeared on the palm of his hand.

Marinette did a few more cycles of banging the lids and chanting and focused her happy thoughts and hope into Nooroo. Chat observed her effort with a sleepy face and half lidded eyes he looked ready to fall asleep even if there was noise.

Marinette put down the lids as she decided she tried enough and was feeding the kwami some sugar liquid when Chat’s ring frantically beeped and he detransformed into Adrien. The boy looked groggy and disoriented.

“We got him, even for a little while.” Marinette smiled. But she was worried about Adrien, she was worried a lot.

“Hello my dear guardians.” Nooroo uttered weakly. “I thank you for your sacrifice and kindness. I am healed but I am still weak. It will be a long time before anyone is going to be able to wield me.”

“Would it be easier for you if you stayed in the box?” Marinette inquired.

Nooroo was confused, it had been such a long time since anyone asked him how he preferred anything.

“You can take me out at any time if you need me, but you can keep me in the box if you do not want to be as exhausted as me.” The kwami pointed towards the blonde boy who barely kept his eyes open and looked at the exchange.

“Of course.” Marinette replied. Then she patted the kwami on the head, took the pin from Adrien and put it into the miracle box.

“Come on, I’m taking you home.” Marinette smiled gently and got to her feet. She transformed into Ladybug and took the miracle box, the lids and Adrien back to her rooftop terrace. It wasn’t long before both of them were asleep as exhausted as they were.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And good night?


	33. Poetry

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another morning, another school day, Lila makes a move or two and several teenagers decide to ignore their feelings.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> here we go

Poetry

“Hey, Felix.” Lila called while the boy in question was deeply focused on the contents of his locker, or perhaps his own thoughts and concerns, because weather he was ready to admit that or not, the events of the last four days had an impact of him. He took his time and ignored the call.

First of all, he was determined to consider Marinette pathetic for the way she loved his pathetic cousin. Yes, he should have been sorry for the boy who lost his mother and his father was a villain and now he had to go through a legal battle to keep anything, even from his own aunt.

But now Felix knew he was jealous of his cousin and the love that his friends had for him, he became painfully aware that that was the reason he sent that awful message for a reply from Adrien’s phone that day him and Amelie went over to Paris for a visit.

Then there was Chloe, as obnoxious and annoying as ever, but he saw through her, she was actually doing nice things for people, even when nobody watched her, just because she could and he mocked her for that, just like he did for relying on (read it as using) Sabrina for her school assignments.

“Hi Felix.” The same voice from behind him called again, but he continued to ignore her, because he was deep in his train of thought, determined to find some leverage, some meaning to everything that had happened to him and was not stopping for an obscure call from behind.

Then there was Kagami, a girl he could have played with and pretended to be Adrien longer, and yet she stood calm and composed, shy with showing any emotions but rather straightforward when it came to physical actions, and no, he was not able to tell if he had a date yesterday.

“Good morning Felix.” A voice called and he was grabbed by his upper arm and turned around by force, his train of thought derailed, his face slightly flushed and with a dopey smile on his face (that he was not aware of) as he thought of the last girl in the line, only to face Lila.

“Oh, hi Lila.” Felix pulled cordless earphones from his ears and schooled his face into mildly annoyed with a strained smile. That was a girl he was hoping to neither see nor meet first thing in the morning, in the locker room, alone. This was not why he arrived so early.

Lila, on the other hand, chose to be to school as early as possible if only to catch some time alone, without Rosa by her side watching her every move. She was certain to flip that young woman around her finger just like she did with Ms Bustier and principal Damocles sooner or later.

“I was looking for you yesterday.” Lila ran her hand up and down his arm and even sneaked her fingers underneath his shirt sleeve. Felix rolled his eyes, yes he knew she looked for him, his mother told him, and he assured her that the girl was lying all the way.

“Yes, mother told me.” He replied, icicles seeped from his voice. Lila clutched on his arm and fluttered her eyelashes.

“I overheard yesterday about the test in chemistry today and I wanted to go through that with you so you could be prepared for it.” She sniffed. “But I couldn’t find you, your mother was so nice to let me in, she told me you were in fencing, so I waited, but you did not come.”

“She mentioned ...” _How you pestered her and wouldn’t leave her alone._ He took a deep breath and made sure the door to his locker was firmly shut as the girl tried to peek inside. He really wasn’t in the mood to discuss that with her, heck, not even to play a prank on her.

“Listen Lila.” He straightened up. “You are an outcast in this class because you lied. I am an outcast because I played a prank that hurt them. You used to work for Gabriel, my mother is here to take over his businesses.”

“Yes, you see how much we have in common.” Her left hand gripped on his right arm, just above the elbow, while her right had roamed over his chest and torso. “We could help each other out, you know, with the business and the school and to feel slightly less left out and lonely.”

The last words made Felix snap, pull himself out of her grip and push her hands away.

“I’m really glad I took those macarons as a provocation to dress up as Adrien on Tuesday. It made you show your real face to me, you thought you owned Adrien and now you think you could own me. Well, you don’t.” He snarled, checked if his locker was locked properly and walked away.

It was the truth, he would have bought it, not that he was stupid, but her stories made sense and he loved to despise his cousin and Marinette, he was jealous of what they had, he knew that now, he wanted it too, but not with that boring baker’s daughter, nor with the liar that just cornered him.

Yes, he could have easily found common interest with her, the two of them would play victims of the rest of the class while in school while they collected the information about Gabriel and Emilie and the miraculous and what exactly happened, and his mother would have approved of that.

But he clutched his phone and looked at his contact list, yes, his whole class was there, as Adrien sent him all the details he could possibly ever need but never wanted to have, and then there it was the one number he got on his own, listed under her name, Kagami.

He entered the empty classroom and walked over to his seat, too angry to even try to socialize with the rest of the class, he took out chemistry notes copied from who knows whom and provided by Marinette, the class president, to at least try and prepare for an exam.

“You’re wrong.” Were the first words Lila uttered as she entered the classroom. “I read the files Gabriel had on you, I know what you dear aunt Emilie have done, I know what you are and I know how to control you and how to destroy you. Now, I can be nice to you or I can be mean, what do you chose?”

Felix was at a loss. What was it that this girl could possibly have on him? And what was that that aunt Emilie did or this girl thought that aunt Emilie did to make her possibly think she had any power over him? He stared at the girl with his face blank, his eyes empty.

“Oh, there you are, bon giorno sinore Felix! Lila, andiamo! We have a chemistry exam today.” Rosa burst into the classroom and pulled her student towards the last row of the benches where they both continued their conversation in hushed tomes.

The boy devoted his time to study the rules between the volumes and the masses and the densities and molar sums of the chemical equations and the laws of the famous French scientists that invented the connections between them.

Ms Bustier took attendance and announced yet another test in the afternoon while Felix never lifted his nose from the schoolwork as he was determined to do well in the test, he learned early in life that teachers often forgiven a prank or two (or twenty) to their best students.

The first lesson was with the same teacher and their task was to dissect some meaningless poem into pieces. And it was him, of all people, who was chosen to read the poem to the class. That hopefully saved him from any further analysis, so he read it, with all the appropriate feeling acted.

Chloe listened intently to the boy who recited the poem. He looked so much like Adrien, he was wearing his usual school uniform and his hair was combed neatly, not ruffled, but still, his face, his gentle features, the eyes, his lips, his gentle manners, he was so much like his cousin.

And yet, Felix was so different, he strived for class and style, albeit his style was different than hers, far more subdued, it was asking for attention in this classroom just like she was, and he came from distinguished family with connections, just like she did, she felt like she found a soulmate.

But they had their disagreements, and first and foremost, Felix never ever let her tell him what to do or at least did not listen to her or did not do it, he was not the one to let her have the last word and he never admitted that she was right, even when she was, which was always, according to her.

Then there was the issue of Sabrina. Chloe had one policy in life, and that was not to move a finger if someone else can do it for you. It was a quality of a good employee to execute tasks, but it was a quality of a boss to delegate them, and she never wanted to be a mere employee.

Therefore, she was not bossing Sabrina around (no she never did that to anyone else, Jean Something included) she was merely delegating tasks just like any self respecting boss, a city mayor or an heiress would do, she simply did not do tasks.

‘ _You can’t know if your employee did their task well if you don’t know how to do it yourself or at least how it is supposed to be done._ ’ Felix argued while they were doing their worksheets together, as they were supposed to, for their common homework the other day.

Felix considered her incompetent and her style unnecessarily flashy and drawing too much attention while her own actions were, according to him, mean with no purpose, because he considered his pranks funny, while she considered them childish.

There she was listening to this blonde boy reciting a song about harmony, written in perfect harmony of verses and rhyme, the words that produced just the right sounds when spoken, to rise the expected feeling in the listener, and he spoke so perfectly calm and collected.

“What kind of a poem was this?” Ms Bustier asked the class.

“It was a love poem.” Chloe replied while she pretended to examine her nails, but her eyes were on Felix who looked at her flushed her conclusion. Several students burst into laughter and Chloe turned around. Then she noticed that Lila was laughing too, or at least, she covered her mouth and pretended.

“It speaks about the harmony between the two souls who had finally found each other, although they grew side by side and competed for the attention, they finally saw each other and recognized their soulmate.” Chloe continued to elaborate.

“Chloe, I know you have a crush on Felix, but the song was about two flowers in a meadow.” Lila replied proudly. “It was a poem about nature.” She concluded proudly and observed Ms Bustier as she waited for her teacher’s approval.

Her unreadable assistant was making notes in her notebook and did not provide any kind of a reaction to the girl’s answer. Lila was at least encouraged to continue with her actions because no reaction also meant there was no negative reaction.

“What?” Chloe screeched completely unaware that her face turned pink (or she was hoping that her blush was perfectly hidden below the layers of her expensive make up, thank you very much) and even less aware that Felix got pink in the face too after the rest of the class reacted.

“What I was meaning to say is that the poem glorifies the beauty of nature and its harmony, it is what I strive for in all the charities I do where we fight against the climate change and try to save the planet ...” Lila felt a light nudge from her teaching assistant, the rest of the class turned away already.

“Lila!” Chloe glared still offended at the public disclosure of the feelings she was not even aware of. “If all the climate change fighters are like you, no wonder the climate turned into such mess.” The heiress shot back and then demonstratively turned around, huffed and sat down.

“Actually, Chloe is right.” The teacher concluded with a gentle smile as she purposefully ignored the two blushing teenagers in the first row and strived to aim the attention of the rest of the class towards herself while she explained the hidden message.

Marinette observed the two teens as she was able to do it unnoticed, Adrien was too much within Felix’s line of sight when he glanced at Chloe and he did it every once in a while while the girl determinedly stared at her nails, unfocused, not that Marinette could see from her place.

Felix felt the heat in his cheeks and for the first time he wished his hair was more ruffled, like Adrien’s, so he could simply bow his head and let his bangs hide his blush, this way he had no choice but to stand and later sit there while the rest of the class and the teacher had a clear view of his red face and ears.

He just read a love poem, okay, he was a teenager who had just read a love poem in front of a class, a whole class of other teenagers, do you know how many hormones that is? And he knew it was a love poem after two verses, because how it made him feel while he read it.

The boy bravely continued to read the lines, the way his mother taught him to, the way those lines of poetry decided to be read, with all the emotion hidden beneath it, but not too much, to be treated with respect and admiration for the hidden messages and meanings.

Chloe stared at her nails, she did not have a crush on anyone, okay, that was that baker’s daughter job, or Kim’s, or Nathaniel’s, or whatever, but not hers. Other people had crushes that made them loose their bearings and do stupid and self deprecating things, she did not do crush, okay?

And then to have the audacity to claim that she had a crush on Felix of all people, don’t take her wrong, the boy was not that bad, in fact she might even admit that she found his company acceptable, from time to time, and just because of his family connections.

Whom was she kidding? She was devastated that morning when she learned that the boy went to school early and she had her morning ride alone. And then she was even more put down by his devotion to the chemistry notes instead of giving all his attention to her.

Chloe raised her eyes, slowly, towards her seat mate and just when she observed his face he glanced towards her again and their eyes met. They both blinked a few times at each other, and then each of them smirked, it wasn’t infatuation, they were ready to shoot verbal daggers at each other again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> reminder: Lila had access to Gabriel's documents


	34. Invited

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There are invitations popping up, another dinner invitation from Amelie, an invitation for Felix, and the boy makes and invitation of his own.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kids having fun, mostly.

Invited

The class was restless with tiny whispers of gossip and glances towards the blonde couple in the first row, but the two ignored them completely, they were above those pathetic little creatures or ridiculous utterly ridiculous peasants (depending whom you asked).

Adrien smirked to himself, he felt rather self satisfied and smug, if Chloe had a crush on Felix, and if the blush in his cousin’s face was what he thought it was, then they were going to be a couple really soon and it was terrifying just how much they had in common.

He was happy for his childhood friend as much as he was happy for his cousin who might become slightly less of a heartless prankster now that he actually had feelings for someone while he knew that Chloe was able to be nice when she wanted, the proof was that teaching assistant in the back.

Marinette felt mortified for both Felix and Chloe, having their feelings exposed like that in front of the whole class was awful, especially since obviously none of them were aware of those feelings just yet. It was probably too early to tell.

But then her thoughts went back to Kagami and whatever happened yesterday after fencing and the ice cream. She knew Kagami might have seen that as more than just a friendly outing, or perhaps she did not, she had Adrien to train her on what friends did and did not do.

Lila’s little scheme did not quite bring the outcome the little liar expected from it, at least not yet. She believed their mutual annoyance was genuine, nobody acted to be irritated by the very presence of a person they liked, yes they could get awkward, confused and stutter, but Felix was none of that.

She expected the boy to dismiss the heiress and look for another seat mate and the only free seat was just in front of her, next to Ivan and she would have clear access to the boy and draw his attention whenever she wanted and interfere in any of his interactions with the rest of the class.

The bell inevitably rang and they were given a task to find a love poem (it could be even words to a popular song if they liked) and analyse it the way they just did with the one Felix read to the class.

Felix frowned, that was a task given to teenagers to do over a weekend?

“I have an idea!” Rose exclaimed. “Why don’t we all meet on Trocadero this Saturday afternoon and find different songs and poems to analyse, we could help each other, I already have so many ideas … “

“That would be cool.” Juleka muttered. “But it will be too crowded and very noisy there, perhaps my boat?”

“The whole class?” Marinette looked at Juleka who just smiled shyly behind her bangs and nodded, it was not like her mother was the one that would complain about such plans.

“We plan to have another Kitty Section session later in the evening if anyone wishes to stay for that.” Mylenne added.

“Cool.” Alix snickered, although she preferred the first location for her rollers, she knew that it was not fun when it was too crowded so she accepted the change.

The class president looked at Juleka and then at Felix and Chloe, then back at Juleka. The shy girl who was hiding behind her hair slumped her shoulders first, but then straightened up and nodded, Rose followed suit as she understood what was going on.

“Chloe, Felix, you are welcome too.” Marinette spoke while she looked at the two teens in the first row who were yet to resume their usual banter. She stood there with confidence and authority of a class president with her blinding smile.

Felix looked at Marinette and then at Alya right next to her. The young journalist reluctantly nodded to confirm the invitation when Marinette nudged her. Then he switched his eyes towards Juleka and Rose who held each other, smiled reassuringly towards the boy and nodded.

This was something he did not expect, he got the three of them akumatized and they invited him over to an impromptu literature session. He was ready to decline as he was in no mood to discuss love poetry with such group, but the last move made him rethink his plans on the spot.

Nobody bothered to ask Chloe, she never confirmed, she just appeared, or not, and nobody was the wiser on how she decided on that. But the blonde heiress observed what was going to be Felix’s decision with an interest she seldom showed for any of her classmates.

Most of the classmates were collecting their things to their bags or chatted excitedly about the upcoming event they just planned for the weekend or already started searching for their favourite love song to see if the words were of any use for a literature homework.

“Felix couldn’t possibly spare the Saturday afternoon, we have to go over my contract with the new management of the designer brand and I think Amelie had an idea to replace the current male model with a very similar one.” Lila spoke as soon as her learning assistant went out to make a phone call.

Adrien and Felix never looked so much alike as in that moment when both of them glared at the girl in the back row. Marinette clenched her fists and turned around so quickly she might have hurt herself, but Adrien caught her and prevented her from lashing her anger.

“This is ridiculous, utterly ridiculous, we are having a chemistry test in a classroom on the other side of the building in two minutes and you are discussing this?” Chloe picked up her stuff and stormed out from the classroom.

The rest of the class was quick to file out and hurry across the hallways and were greeted by rather sternly looking Mme Mendeleev who tapped her finger on her desk as she waited for the students to settle down after their run through the school hallways.

Marinette had to admit she did not study for this exam more than when her and Adrien went through a few items while they pretended to study the day before while she was actually trying to locate if Therese indeed visited the same temple in Tibet she returned to life after Feast.

But the questions like ‘does water boils sooner at sea level or in the mountain?’ ‘Where is it faster to make tea, Paris or Lhasa?’ ‘Where does it take longer to cook noodles?’ were obviously assembled by the teacher specifically for this occasion.

Adrien just had to turn around to look at Marinette with that crooked grin that Chat Noir always sported and the teacher issued him a warning for turning around, but then she herself had to smile and hide it so that the students wouldn’t notice.

The teacher collected the worksheets and then continued to teach, repeat and explain the properties of air and the atmosphere. The rest of the classes remained rather uneventful until they reached the lunch break and it was time to disperse, or accumulate in the cafeteria.

Felix was the one to disperse, but not quite alone, Chloe latched an arm around his elbow and nudged him towards the white limo that awaited in front of the school ready to take them both to Le Grand Paris. The couple returned to their usual banter on the way, who ever discussed feelings?

Lila cursed under her breath the fact that her learning assistant was not so keen on lunch breaks to actually go away and have lunch. The woman actually got permitted to have food in the school cafeteria and the poor post graduate student used the privilege.

Therefore, Lila was urged by the young woman to follow and listen to a lecture about an attitude and how to respect the feelings of her colleagues and disclose so publicly if she doubted anyone had feelings on anyone else.

Lila whined about how it was actually her who was bullied and harassed there, and before she even noticed, she managed to produce a story how Felix was actually dating her in secret, how it was all strictly hushed because of the upcoming new brand and how they were going to model together.

Nino had an idea of checking a playlist of love songs to find if he liked any for the literature assignment and of course his dear girlfriend had to join him for the effort. That activity was rather popular and taken by the rest of their class.

Therefore the group brought their food to the benches in the park and enjoyed the sun. It was as if the weekend had almost started, there were only a few classes between them and the bliss of not having a school night.

Two teenagers, however, had several busy nights and with the warm sun on their faces, they closed their eyes and soon the sleep overpowered them. This time, the whole class took photos of the sleeping couple cuddled together on the bench.

It was time to return to the afternoon classes and they all walked back to the school. There, on the steps of the school, stood Felix with Chloe and pretended to have an argument as they always did, while Aurore, Mireille and Marc watched from the side.

Sabrina joined Chloe for an update on whatever, Nathaniel went to Marc to discuss an idea on what to put or alter in their next comic and Felix was left to his own resources, but he never failed to produce his own amusement so he casually walked over to Adrien and Marinette.

“Hello” He greeted while he put one of his hands on Adrien’s shoulder and another on Marinette’s while he leaned forward between the two. “My mother kindly asks if you would like to join us for dinner this evening. The table is reserved since seven thirty, the dinner should be at eight.”

“Sure.” Marinette replied as calmly as she could have. She remembered the stories from that night when Bunnix took them to resolve some future that now they had to prevent from happening again. She half expected to see Bunnix hiding behind a tree or around a corner.

“Of course.” Adrien beamed, but his grin was slightly too wide to be entirely genuine. It was like he was facing an akuma, or in this case, a sentimonster, and taunted them and demanded their attention and rage faced solely onto him, away from civilians and Ladybug.

Felix never told anyone about the threat that Lila made towards him, he considered those were the empty words of a deranged school girl who had nothing better to do than to chase boys around and play silly games with other people and their feelings.

Chloe never acknowledged the claim that Lila made, about her having a crush on Felix, her experience told her that ignoring such claims was usually the best solution as it took so much energy to prove something was a lie, she seldom bothered to do so. If any of these peasants chose to believe the words of that liar, she was going to just let them bask in their stupidity.

The school day was finished, but the students of the D’Argencourt fencing academy had yet another training session. The tournament was the next morning and they had two new members to prepare, the fencing master insisted that the new talented members should also participate.

“Me? Participate? Tomorrow? Tournament? Fencing?” Marinette squeaked out in quick breaths. Adrien laughed heartily and smiled gently at his girlfriend. She flailed her arms and tried to invent an excuse not to go, but the fencing master did not want to hear anything about that.

“You don’t understand, I help out in the bakery on Saturdays, especially Saturday morning, papa has to deal with all the big orders for cakes and stuff and the morning rush ...” She rambled on and on about how much work it was for her parents.

“That is okay, you will have plenty of time to help out your parents in the morning, the tournament starts about noon and after that we can all go to Liberty to celebrate and hang out.” He grinned and patted her shoulder. “Hey, I might come over and help out too?” He offered.

“You promised Nino … besides … “ _I’m so clumsy when you are around and if my maman and papa start to tease me about you or my papa starts to teach you puns_ … was left unspoken.

“Yeah, right, I owe Nino some bro time.” He winked, his eyes glowed, he abused the time difference and early to bed excuses all week (to the delight of Nino’s mother who feared the boys would just talk and play games all night).

“I thought we were expected to work on our homework, not ‘hang out’?” Felix cut in, his tone mocked both teens as he observed his cousin and his girlfriend with glare of superiority and slightly subdued expression of despise.

“And listen to Kitty Section, of course.” Adrien was not affected by the comment of his cousin at all. But then he smirked, he loved teasing his cousin. “We said poetry, Felix, and they play songs, some of them about love … for unicorns?”

Kagami, Marinette and Adrien all laughed at the comment. Felix watched the couple and frowned, but then he noticed that Kagami was laughing too. She sneaked up to them in full gear and listened only to the last end of the conversation. He stared at her laugh, he wanted her to do that again.

“Seriously, Felix, there is no way that the hang out on Liberty passes without some poetry.” Kagami added and then smiled at Marinette, two girls exchanged a knowing look. “Especially with Kitty Section and ...” She trailed off with a knowing smirk and walked towards the gym.”

“Hey Kagami.” Felix walked straight after her. “You’ve been at that boathouse before and listened to that band? I wanted some objective opinion and you seem just like the person who would be able to … “ He trailed off when he saw the look Kagami gave him.

“I believe I told you how I used to visit the boat with Adrien before?” She cut him off.

“Yes, indeed, yes you have, I … .” In fact he wanted to invite her to the outing, he actually wanted to go and invite her over, if she used to go before with Adrien, her friend, then it would not be weird if she went there with Felix, her friend, or perhaps she was going on her own?

“Come on, come on, we don’t have all day, we have to practise, tomorrow is a big day, another fencing academy is coming over for a visit and we have to show them all our skill and chivalry.” The fencing master was rather excited about it.

Kagami was ready to face any opponent. However, there was one person in particular who was rather enthusiastic to face her, and even more eager to chase away any possible competition on that side. But he also needed a piece of advice, and decided to swallow his pride for a moment.

“Hey Adrien” Felix called to his cousin quietly. “Kagami told me how the two of you used to visit that boat that Juleka lives on, the Liberty? Do you think it would be all right if I brought someone on the Saturday afternoon, I mean her, Kagami?”

“Sure.” Adrien smiled. “We can always bring our _friends_ to the Liberty. It’s a fun place, you’ll see.”

Marinette turned away to roll her eyes at the word friends although she had the fencing mask over her face. This was still overly familiar, although slightly less painful.

“Hey Kagami.” Felix called quietly while they faced each other and tried to decide which attack to try out next. “Would you like to join me on that boat, the Liberty, on the Saturday afternoon?” No, he was not asking her on a date, just a friendly ‘hang out’, apparently he was doing that.

“After the fencing tournament? Gladly.” She replied calmly and lunged for her next attack. Needless to say, She scored a point.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> done


	35. Dressing Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Amelie talks to Adrien and Marinette.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> warning: might induce tears

Dressing up

“Amelie is going to ask us questions, Adrien.” Marinette began their awkward conversation after the afternoon fencing. “And we need to agree if we tell her anything.” She looked at him and knew this was going to be hard.

“About Emilie and … Felix.” He nodded. It was hard for him to accept that his cousin was a sentimonster. “I … would prefer to tell them nothing.” He actually preferred not to talk about it at all so this was the most comfortable solution.

“But we were there, Adrien, they both know most of the things that happened from the Ladyblog and the other news. I think we should tell her everything. She deserves to know everything that happened.” She countered. They were going to her room to discuss this in peace.

Adrien stared at her for a long time and blinked, then he turned away and looked into the distance, or just the empty space before him, he remembered the last time he saw the body of his mother, if he had a brother, he’d like to know what happened to him. He nodded.

“Since we checked the Ladyblog, Ling did not stream the whole attack, nor did anybody else, there are just a few parts and photos, so the world doesn’t know about Felix.” She sighed. “It would have been awful. So if they don’t bring it up, we stay quiet on that.”

“Good, don’t talk about Felix.” He nodded, of course he agreed, just scratch everything off from the list as far as he was concerned. He also did not want to mention that his mother used to wield the peacock miraculous nor that she got sick because she did so.

“There is a part of his speech about making a wish to bring his love back. I think Amelie has the right to know everything about her sister and why he did it.” Marinette decided. “Including the part that she wielded the peacock miraculous.” She added the painful part.

Adrien remained completely silent. He did not want to think about that, let alone to talk about it, and with his aunt Amelie and Felix of all people, talking about that was painful, not that he was talking at all, he just listened to her and he felt nauseous.

“We are not telling about Felix being a sentimonster. The question is, do we tell Amelie that Emilie …” Marinette was searching for the right word. “… that she got sick because she wielded the peacock miraculous that was broken.”

“Amelie might know then that mum got sick because of Felix.” Adrien concluded. That thought made him dislike his cousin, he might have resented the existence of his cousin if Marinette did not reason with him that it was Emilie’s decision after all.

“We don’t know if that is true, Adrien.” Marinette replied after a few moments of silence. She suddenly had an idea. “We don’t know what your father did with her when he akumatized her. And he did it a lot, according to her diary.”

“But it must be the broken miraculous that she used that made her ill.” He countered. “It was what Hawk Moth had said, right? It was the broken miraculous, I even remember how Nathalie sometimes coughed or got dizzy spells … I was so oblivious.”

“And she used it to create things for him too. Now think about it.” She beamed, although what she was about to say was gloomy, she was excited about having the idea. Because she thought she had an idea how it actually happened.

“My father used my mother” Adrien spoke in quiet anger. “he infected her with butterflies to create an akuma, she transformed to create animated objects for him and she got ill from all of that. He claims he loved her, but he destroyed her.”

“And he knew what he did after the fact, that drove him mad so he wanted to fix it by bringing her back.” Marinette concluded. “I lost you so many times in akuma battles, I’d know the feeling.” She looked to the side, they were standing on her rooftop terrace.

“Oh.” Adrien grabbed his wrist, the one where the snake miraculous was that one time when he was Aspik. He looked at his hands. “I guess I know the feeling too.” Then he looked towards her, she turned, noticed the way he held his wrist and then jumped towards him and hugged him.

That Friday afternoon, Amelie made a list. Officially, she was there to protect the family assets, the Graham de Vanily family assets. After a few busy days with Andre and help from Audrey, they still have not made a deal. Amelie wanted the full control, Andre wanted the city to get compensation.

As her family was the major stakeholder in the company, she was able to easily make the company worthless, it was going down anyway, so that would not be even seen as any kind of manipulation. But that was just something she did on the side, while having endless meetings with Audrey.

Then there was the issue of the mansion that was currently regarded as a crime scene. She did not care about the house as much as the secrets it held, she wanted to know everything that happened to her sister over there, everything she did not pay attention to before.

She knew the official version of the story, the investigation was ongoing, but she wanted to know more, she needed to hear more from Adrien and Marinette, everything that happened in the temple, everything that Gabriel said. And she wanted the ring.

“Adrien, Marinette, you were both there, in the temple, and I know what you told the authorities, but could you tell me what happened, I am her sister.” Amelie asked after she made Felix busy with something on the other side of the restaurant of Le Grand Paris.

Marinette let the boy hold her hand, they were ready for this, as much as anyone was ever ready for such a conversation, they had to tell her, they saw how hungry she was for any information at all that they were able to give.

“He … he said things about mum. “Adrien spoke slowly. “And you and … “ Marinette squeezed his hand firmly, he should not tell that they knew Felix was a sentimonster. They looked at each other, they were not sure how much they should say, everything, nothing or some place in between.

“He mentioned that Emilie used that funny brooch of hers to conduct funny experiments in that funny basement of theirs?” Amelie asked with a knowing smile. Yes, she knew what her sister was doing and she was ready to admit that much to the two people who obviously already knew.

“Gah … um … yes?” Adrien was looking for words and sounded remarkably like Marinette when she was trying to talk to him just a month ago. “So you knew?” There was an implication in his tone, if she knew about Emilie, then she might have known that Hawk Moth was his father.

“You didn’t.” Amelie concluded. It was a matter of a fact, she knew they did not know before, it was obvious in the accusing tone that the boy just used on her, the way their eyes went wide, yes she knew, if she wanted information, she had to come clean.

Both teens shook their heads.

A waiter passed, a boy returned, Amelie needed him away, Felix was sent away again, but this time to negotiate something with Chloe and just as Amelie anticipated, the boy was taken and asked to sit beside the heiress. She had time to discuss whatever she wanted.

“We only learned in the temple when he … took us to his lair and started to talk. I didn’t know that place existed in the mansion.” Adrien explained. Of course he knew before the final battle, it was obvious he knew and the video went live.

“Okay, so on Tuesday you said to the police investigator that she was in some sort of a coma and they kept her in the temple.” Amelie continued although it was obvious that those words were painful for her to speak.

Both teens nodded. She looked at them expectantly. It took some time for them to realize that confirming what she already knew was not sufficient for Amelie, she wanted more and she was going to get it, they needed to give her something.

“Um, yes, you see, her body did not show any life signs … they said … he said … modern medicine would have proclaimed her dead … and she became that way because of some magic … so I thought … “ He looked at Marinette.

“She has better chances in the temple because here, she would probably have none.” The girl concluded and looked back at Adrien. And the temple held magic of its own and if anyone knew magic it was the monks in the temple and … but they were not able to say that.

Amelie swallowed whatever she felt about the words she just heard and their meaning. She shuddered at the thought, well at everything that run through her head as she processed those words. But then she remembered how Adrien got to see Emlie, at least he had that.

“I just wish … I just wish I was there to see her, you know … just like you were, I’d like to go there, you know, for a visit, and see her, soon, I just can’t leave Felix on his own here … “ She glanced towards her son on the other end of the restaurant.

Marinette reached for Adrien’s hand and held it firmly, they both knew they had a way to organize that, in fact they might just do that, and soon, really soon. They needed to have some faith in this woman, not to leave her in the dark, she might know something they needed too.

“Anyway, what do you know about how she became … that way?” Amelie continued her gentle interrogation. She knew it was going to be painful for the kids to tell her as much or even more than for her to hear, but she needed to know.

“Well, I remember how she often coughed and had dizzy spells and was becoming tired all the time.” Adrien replayed the events in his head. He felt how his throat tightened and his vision became blur, then Marinette passed him a tissue and he realized he was crying.

“Don’t worry dear.” Amelie reached over the table with her hand and held his other hand after he wiped his tears. “You don’t have to talk about it if it hurts so much. I was wandering if he … said anything … about how she became that way.”

“He blamed the magic of the miraculous, he said that it was broken and that he fixed it later.” Marinette replied as good as she dared, she avoided to mention which miraculous was blamed and which one was broken. “Anyway, those were his words if we can trust them.”

“I need to know … I need to know if he blamed … If he thought that … “ Amelie’s eyes flicked towards Felix on the other end of the restaurant. She was not able to pronounce the words yet, she was not able to tell them that. But they both noticed she struggled.

There was silence when each of the three of them looked away from the group, none of them was able to speak the words and admit the most horrifying thing all three of them now knew was a fact all of them still refused to believe it was true.

“Gabriel was ready to blame anyone for what happened to my mother.” Adrien finally spoke quietly. “But I think, in the end, he was more responsible for the state she was in than anyone else.” The boy concluded determined to believe that he should not blame Amelie or Felix.

Amelie looked at the boy, but her eyes looked as if she was a hundred years old, such was the weight, the burden she carried upon her soul. Because deep down she knew, she remembered what her sister did for her and she blamed herself and her own happiness for her sister’s misfortune.

“You shouldn’t feel guilty.” Marinette spoke quietly, she dared to speak because she knew what she saw and she knew she had to try and mend this before it blows up in their faces. “They were using the miraculous and whatever they did with it, it was their decision, not yours.” She smiled.

Amelie nodded, of course this child did not know what they all did, she was able to speak that way because that girl did not carry the guilt and the responsibility of her own sister scarifying her health and even life to sustain something that became her son.

“Sometimes … “ Amelie spoke in hoarse voice so she cleared her throat. “The people we care for also care for us so much that they tend to do stupid things, they want to make a sacrifice for us, to do something for us that asks too much on their side. It is our duty to prevent them from doing so.”

At that moment Marinette gripped Adrien’s hand tightly. She remembered rather vividly how many times he threw himself between her and the danger and got hit and she knew how she felt about that how much it hurt her to watch that, fortunately she had the power to bring him back.

“You kids, here in Paris, you know so much about the magic, everyone is such a big fan of Ladybug and Chat Noir … even of you two after what you’ve done in that temple.” She smiled gently.

They took turns as they shrugged then nodded and looked at each other.

“Whenever there was an akuma battle … whatever happened … whoever got physically hurt by magic … they defeated the akuma and cleaned that butterfly and then Ladybug did some magic and it restored everyone back.” Amelie inhaled sharply, she needed to tell them this.

“If Ladybug and Chat Noir find … whatever made Emilie become that way … do you think they could … restore her?” Her eyes flicked towards Felix again and they clearly saw a tear roll down her face.

“Ladybug did restore that temple in China.” Marinette replied quickly instead of a yes. But Adrien griped her hand firmly. “After she launched her cure … after they defeated a sentimonster … that destroyed it?” She knew that was common knowledge by now.

“So she could?” Amelie inhaled a shaky breath. They could both see the guilt, the pain, the fact that the woman thought she had to choose between her son and her sister. “And they destroyed the … sentimonster?” She pronounced the last word in high pitch.

“They would first need to learn what caused mother to become so ill.” Adrien spoke in a hoarse voice. “Ladybug and Chat Noir, they have to do research and then they need to know, there is no way of knowing now what they would have to do.”

Amelie nodded quickly. There was still hope that she was not going to have to give up on one thing, well it was a person, that was the most precious to her, and that was her son, well the son that Emilie, her sister, had given to her, had made for her.

“The person who made that sentimonster, the one that destroyed the temple in Tibet” Marinette spoke with a smile. “They probably lived a long and healthy life, you know, so it is not like using magic kills you or makes you sick.”

Adrien smiled gently at her, he knew that was the truth, he knew what master Fu did and for how long he has been living and the man was definitely healthy for that age (who lived that long anyway?) but the miraculous was not broken when he created the monster.

“You should talk to Ladybug and Chat Noir.” Adrien smiled. “They could tell you what they know, they probably have questions for you too.” And they could get more answers from his aunt and compare notes and, huh, did he dare hope to bring his mother back?

“How do I … How does one contact them and asks for an interview?” Amelie inquired. There was something in the way she looked at them, she suspected the heroes were in contact with her nephew somehow, maybe, because those two kids took the miraculous?

“You could try the Ladyblog,” Marinette stated simply, she had an answer ready. “Simply make a small request, I’m sure the heroes are still following what is going on there.” Adrien smiled and nodded eagerly, he admired his lady, she always had a plan.

“Of course, thank you.” Amelie smiled again. There was hope and determination in her eyes, they knew she was going to do that soon. Felix had returned from his conversation with Chloe and the dinner was about to be served.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In the removed timeline, imagine Lila and Felix sat at the table.  
> Would Marinette or Adrien say anything or pretend they did not know?


	36. Hoping

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ladybug and Peagasus give Adrien and Emilie a ride.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally out.

Hoping

“Tikki, would taking Amelie to the temple mean using a miraculous for personal reasons?” Marinette inquired once she got back to her room. Amelie insisted that her driver, former Adrien’s bodyguard, to take them both to their respective homes just after dinner.

“She might tell us more about Emilie and what if we learn that Gabriel was wrong and that it wasn’t the broken peacock miraculous that made her fall ill.” The girl continued to elaborate her idea so it did not sound like she was making a favour to someone just to make them feel better.

“Do you really think that is true or you use that as an excuse to entertain some false hope?” Tikki inquired in high pitch voice, but with a note of age old wisdom and watched her chosen and now her guardian with her large blue eyes.

“It … it might be true.” Marinette paced her room anxiously. “I mean, Adrien and me were able to read the book easily, Gabriel obviously did not if he needed the stolen tablet from master Fu to know how to fix the peacock miraculous.”

Tikki did not say a word, she just watched. She actually wasn’t able to tell herself if the girl was fooling herself or it was plausible truth. Because it was possible that Gabriel decided what to believe in and what actually happened to his wife was slightly different than that.

Marinette did not want to use the ‘good deed’ as an argument. Emilie created Felix for Amelie as a good deed and look what it brought.

“What is bothering you kid?” Plagg asked quietly. Adrien just arrived and excused himself to the toilet first. Nino expected him for a best bro evening full of gaming, films and other entertainment to kill time while they bonded over junk food.

“My aunt … she wanted to see mum, she still wants to see mum, and I’d like to take her, I’d like to ask Max, I mean, Peagasus to take her, and … “ The boy rubbed his temples and his forehead, he just needed a moment to hear from Plagg how that was a bad idea and he could hang out with Nino.

“And you could go with her?” The tiny black cat half teased how concluded. “But you forget you can’t really go further than the cave transformed.” Plagg glared. “So you’d only be waiting so close but not close enough.”

“Yeah, okay, I will think of something, besides, I should talk to Marinette about that and … and you never mentioned that was a selfish reason?” The boy inquired with one eyebrow tilted upwards, it was giving him hope that he was able to do that.

“What about some Camembert for my services?” Plagg inquired. “And why don’t you message pigtails about it?”

“Marinette and me just sneaked away half that cheese platter away for you just to keep you quiet, I was certain someone would notice.” Adrien protested, but he produced one more piece of cheese because if Plagg ate it, it would not sit in his shirt pocket and smell.

After that, he devoted his time to Nino, the boys enjoyed a not a school night evening of fun and games (and chased Chris back to his bed so many times they stopped counting).

Felix had a feeling his mother sent him away to Chloe to ask Adrien something and hide that from him, and now she paced their living room area back and forth with a nervousness in her step. That did not happen often and he always knew the reason, so he decided to sit and wait for her to spill.

Amelie sent a message through Ladyblog as soon as she returned to the room, of course it was stupid of her to expect an answer right away, but she needed to know. She was nervous because she wasn’t sure what to expect to get back from the heroes at all.

The superheroes knew that Gabriel became Hawk Moth because he wanted to bring back his dead or comatose wife, so how would the heroes feel if she asked them to try to find a reason for that and possibly do the same, just not by using a wish?

But deep down she felt like she knew what the reason was. Her eyes flicked towards Felix, her son, the boy she raised, the boy she was still raising. She was not ready to give up on him, to trade the boy in exchange for the life of her sister.

Yeah, if she adopted Adrien she had a replacement for her son, but she was not able to do that with her sister around. So it was either her and two boys, or her and her sister and one boy, her sister’s boy. But that other boy deserved his mother back, poor boy, and …

She wanted to slap herself. What was she thinking? To give up on Felix? Never, she raised him as her son, he was a person, with feelings and character, oh boy did he have a character. Her sister claimed she was able to influence his growth and development through her ring.

What if the superheroes thought her sister was doing something wrong with the miraculous just because she used it? What if they thought it was the right result that her sister was now in a coma? What if they would never help her and just destroy Felix in the process?

“Chloe will charge you for wearing out the carpet, mother.” Felix warned.

“Adrien saw Emilie.” She spoke softly. “She is … Gabriel did something to her, apparently and it drove him mad to do all those stupid things.”

Felix hummed in agreement, he wasn’t surprised, not that he considered the mind of his stuck up uncle something worth keeping.

“And the ring?” The boy raised an eyebrow, he connected the tips of his fingers, it was something Gabriel often did. He had the same stiff and self controlled posture, the cold and sharp eyes that always studied always had to know what was under that surface.

“I did not ask.” Amelie admitted. She was so focused on her sister and what happened to her that she forgot to ask about the other ring, besides, what were the chances that Adrien had that ring, she was rather certain it was either with Emilie or Gabriel.

Felix observed his mother. He knew what she felt right then, sometimes he felt like he was able to read her mind, he certainly knew she was seriously concerned about some life and death situation, but had to ask for details.

“So you think he did not take the ring off from aunt Emilie? I guess Adrien is not the type to do that and if you asked him, he would just ask more questions. Especially that girlfriend of his, as pathetic as I find her, she is rather curious.” He stood and put his hands on his back.

Amelie saw more and more Gabriel in the manners of her son, she suspected that her brother in law had the other ring, that he had both of them, but it did not make sense, he should have kept the other ring on Emilie’s hand. She fiddled with her own ring that hung on a chain around her neck.

“Why don’t you go to bed, Felix? You have a tournament tomorrow.” She smiled.

That evening Ladybug and Chat Noir knocked on a window on the floor just below the top one on Le Grand Paris.

“Good evening, we are Ladybug and Chat Noir.” Chat spoke with a grin. “Can we come in?”

Amelie was awake and buried in the paperwork that she was reading.

“Of course come inside, please.” She quickly removed some papers from a chaise and offered them some space to sit.

“Good evening, we saw that you wanted some information about your sister, Emilie.” Ladybug noted as seriously and professionally as she treated mayor Bourgeois.

“Yes, um, you see, in the final battle, Hawk Moth, I mean, Gabriel Agreste, mentioned how he wanted your miraculous to bring his wife back. Is that true? Can that be done?” She inquired.

A sense of dread passed through both heroes. Chat visibly shuddered at the thought, suddenly the reality and the imminent danger plastered itself straight in front of them, because Amelie might want to do the same, to bring her sister back.

“It could.” Ladybug stated firmly. “We actually don’t know how, we never tried that.” She looked at Chat. “But what we do know is that whatever you wish for, there is a price to pay, if you bring back a loved one, another loved one has to be lost to make balance.”

“Oh” Amelie sighed and put a hand over her chest for a moment. “So it is a wish then, and one can wish for whatever they want but there is a price to be paid and in equal terms.” So, for her, there was no difference between the wish and destroying Felix to bring her sister back.

“Exactly.” Chat confirmed in a low and menacing tone as he observed Amelie through narrowed eyes. They both saw and felt her concern, they knew she knew and now they were certain what was bothering her. But she looked at them and saw their concern, then she smiled shakily.

“Don’t worry, I’m not here to take your miraculous to bring my sister back, I doubt I’d know how, anyway. It was just for me to know, to learn, to try and understand what my brother in law did and … honestly how mad he got.” The woman concluded.

There was a double sigh of relief from the chaise. The two superheroes did not hide they were worried, and although both of them appeared more relaxed after her admission, they were still alert and full of attention.

“Okay, so, do you know why Emilie, my sister became so catatonic? Comatose? In enchanted sleep?” Amelie faked she was strong and cheerful while she asked those questions and she clasped her hands together and opened them frequently in the rhythm of her speech.

“It is some kind of magic that keeps her in that state.” Ladybug spoke firmly, she held Chat’s hand firmly and signalled him with her eyes that this was her speech to give. “The monks in the temple think there is only her body in there.”

“Only … her body … “ Amelie repeated slowly and let the words settle deep in her mind and soul. So it was true, her sister was as good as dead. Both heroes appeared rather distressed about the whole thing too.

“Tell me, do you know what made her that way?” Amelie asked next.

“We can’t tell for sure, there are many options and probably more that we do not know about yet.” Ladybug replied calmly and professionally.

“Well, if you do find out, do you think your magic could repair that? Could it bring Emilie back?” The woman asked in a pleading voice.

“We can’t tell for certain and we are definitely not making any promises, but miraculous ladybug magic had managed to restore whoever got destroyed by magic, so far, from all that we know.” Ladybug sounded slightly less certain than in her previous answers by that time.

“Okay.” Amelie was again lost in her thoughts.

“Now, we know she used the peacock miraculous … recreationally.” Ladybug spoke carefully. Amelie quickly given the heroes her full attention. “Can you tell us more about that?”

“Well.” Amelie began. “In the beginning it was like her toy, a way to express her creativity, she sometimes moved furniture around that ridiculously huge house of theirs just to make fun of Gabriel.” Amelie giggled. Did Chat giggle too? Ladybug smiled.

Amelie continued to tell them everything she knew, well everything save one particular creation, one particular sentibeing that was created one night in the hospital, an event she hardly remembered because she was heavily medicated and in hospital bed, but she knew what it was.

Ladybug and Chat Noir let her speak for as long as she wanted and tried to remember if she mentioned anything that could be a remaining sentimonster or an object that stored an amok.

“You say she had more than one sentimonster at a time and she controlled them all?” Ladybug asked quietly.

“Yes, when she was … how do you say … transformed?” Amelie smiled. “She was able to create only one at a time, well one per transformation, I think, but she could control more than one at the same time.”

“Okay.” Chat spoke lost in his thoughts. When and where did Amelie and Emilie had those sessions when they drank wine and entertained themselves by making a sofa dance?

“Come to think of it.” Amelie laughed. “We were only able to do it in the night, when the boys fell asleep. She … we hid that from the boys, they … they didn’t know.”

“Would you like to go and see Emilie, your sister, in the temple?” Ladybug asked next.

“Would you like to go there now?” Chat clarified. “It is almost midnight here, it should be dawn over there.”

“What? Now?” Amelie asked as she jumped from the chair she was sitting in.

“Yes, we just need to fetch a fellow miraculous wielder to get you there.” Chat grinned.

“Actually, yes I want to go, but I wanted to ask you … would you be willing to take someone else too?” She inquired.

“Who?” Ladybug asked warily, she was rather worried about taking Felix with them.

Chat was not in the mood to take Felix there either, not if he was sentimonster, which he was.

“Adrien, I’d like to take him to see his mother again.” Amelie beamed.

“It … can be arranged.” Ladybug nodded. Chat wanted to protest but one move of Ladybug’s hand quieted him. “Can I pick you up in ten minutes?”

“Of course, I’ll be ready.” Amelie beamed.

Ladybug and Chat Noir did not go very far, just to a rooftop across the street.

“What are you doing? I can’t go as Adrien and Chat Noir.” Chat protested.

“Chat Noir isn’t going.” Ladybug smirked. “Here, take this miraculous to Max and ask him to wait for me on the rooftop of Francoise Dupont, Adrien will be waiting for us in his room and Adrien … will have a big task of taking Emilie to the temple, Peagasus and me will have to stay in the cave.”

“Oh yes, okay, I understand.” Chat finally grinned. “This actually simplifies your plan, doesn’t it?”

“Of course.” She grinned and flung away. She was going to have one quick ride around the city just to show her presence to the citizens.

Amelie was ready, in trousers, vest and sensible walking shoes, and a jacket, the woman probably did not pack anything more weather proof for Paris.

“Adrien is going to wait for us in his room.” Ladybug spoke quietly, took Amelie and launched her yoyo. The woman was surprisingly calm passenger with all things considered.

Peagasus waited on the school rooftop and they continued together towards the Agreste mansion. They flew in through the window on Adrien’s room and the boy stood there and waited as agreed.

Peagasus concentrated and created a portal.

They whole group walked through the portal and stepped into the small cave that both Ladybug and the blonde boy recognized rather well. They did not expect to return there so quickly.

“Adrien, you will take Amelie to the temple. Peagasus and me will stay here for him to recharge.”

Adrien carefully stepped out from the cave, Amelie followed the boy and watched her every step. The boy sighed as he observed the scene, he turned around and saw Ladybug at the entrance to the small cave, she had to peek out, she had to see it too.

The sky was already light blue, but the sun was not up yet, it was still hiding shyly behind some hills and mountains in the east. Adrien looked at the narrow path before him, partially cut into the cliff, he passed the same path so many times so he stepped forward with confidence.

“Adrien?” Amelie called with a hint of panic in her voice. “Can Ladybug undo if we fall down from here?” The woman leaned onto the cliff behind her and just stared at the abyss below, her eyes wide, her breathing fast, shallow and erratic.

He outstretched his hand as if that would give her confidence to continue and follow him, but she was obviously terrified of heights.

“I’m not usually scared of heights, but the last time I did anything like this … without the security ropes, I mean, that was really long time ago, before you were born.” She smiled nervously.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And yes the next chapter should be out soon too.


	37. Reunion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien meets the monks and Amelie 'talks' with her sister.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> warning: might require some tissues

Reunion

As they stood on the narrow path on the cliff, Adrien put a hand on his aunt’s shoulder and smiled reassuringly, it did not help much, she kept staring into the abyss below them. Soon they heard strong and heavy steps from the path.

“Dorje.” Adrien called with a huge grin as soon as he saw the familiar shape of the man. He felt like he spent half his lifetime with the man although it was only a week.

“Adrien.” The huge man dressed in the robes of a Tibetan monk beamed at the boy and pulled him into a crushing hug.

“This is my aunt Amelie, she is the sister of my mother and she wished to see her, so um, Ladybug and Peagasus, the temporary wielder of the horse miraculous, they gave us a ride and we’re here.” He explained in Chinese while he observed his aunt and tried to determine if she understood.

“Is she scared of heights?” Dorje grinned.

“Yeah, she refuses to move from there, she’s petrified.” Adrien replied quietly.

“I’ll take care of her.” The large monk smiled.

“Aunt Amelie?” Adrien called. “This is Dorje, he is a monk in the local temple, he will help you along this path, okay?”

Amelie nodded and before she was able to comprehend what was going on, she was grabbed and put onto his shoulders. She screamed and her scream echoed around the valley.

They walked the narrow path quickly and reached the side door to the temple, but Dorje passed by and muttered that Adrien can enter there, but he is taking the guest to the main entrance.

Without further ado, Adrien passed through the familiar side entrance and into the narrow corridor. Pema almost jumped on him. Familiar place, familiar faces and warm greetings, the boy thought how he would not mind coming back regularly.

“Adrien? How is Marinette? We have to find some means to communicate, those students, they had those devices, we’d like to get one or … a dozen? And learn how to use them, it seems everyone who comes from the outside world has one.” The woman rambled.

She lead him quickly through narrow corridors and up the stairs. Adrien quickly explained where Ladybug was and with whom. He knew he was lead to the old master Tenzin, and possibly Dolma, if she saw fit to get up and face the guest.

“Good morning young guardian, what brings you here?” Tenzin greeted in a small room. Adrien greeted and the two of them both looked through the window, the sun just peeked over a mountain top and the first rays of sunshine shone over the temple and illuminated the small room.

“My aunt, my mother’s sister, she wishes to see my mother … or what’s left of her.” The boy spoke as calmly as he could. “She doesn’t know about … me and the miraculous.” He added more quietly. He wondered if he should have warned Dorje and Pema about that.

“Did you need anything else?” Tenzin asked the boy next. Marinette and Adrien were released as fully trained wielders and guardians, but the old man knew they were going to find problems they did not know solutions for, not that the teacher knew them too, it was always something new.

“It is about Nooroo and Duusu.” Adrien replied. “Tikki and Plagg were so worried about them they wanted to phase into the miracle box. Then we tried to get them out from the jewels and heal them, but it was such a huge effort and … “

“The kwami are sometimes impatient, which is odd for beings as old as they are, and they are very concerned for their own kind, they celebrate their own versions of birthdays and they are magically connected to each other, they make it difficult to be a guardian.” The old man smiled.

“Yes they do.” Adrien giggled. The old man giggled too and stroke his beard. They watched each other quietly, both happy to be reunited and both studied the other, as much as the boy felt how the teachers eyes pierced through him, he also saw concern and satisfaction in him.

“I am the teacher, not the guardian, so I’d tell you to take your time, it takes time to heal, it takes time for you to heal from everything that happened to you, dear boy, and kwami take time too.” The old man stroke his beard and looked through the window.

“It takes time, I get it, and we have time, or at least we thought so, but then Bunnix, the holder of the rabbit miraculous came and picked us up and we had to fix some future and then make sure that it never happened.” Adrien spoke quickly.

“That future is probably not related to Nooroo and Duusu but some other event.” Tenzin stroke his beard. “However the fact that Plagg and Tikki were ready to go into the miracle box right at that moment is what worries me.”

“Right, well, we forbid them to do that.” The boy nodded lost in his thoughts. What if he told the guardian about that future, that Emilie was the one in the sarcophagus, that Felix was the sentimonster and that Lila and him wielded ladybug and black cat miraculous.

“Excellent, they should listen to you, you are their master and guardian. Now, about Emilie, I’m sure she was taken to the room downstairs and your aunt …?” Tenzin stopped talking and looked at the boy expectantly. He saw the memories flashed across boy’s face.

“Amelie, my aunt’s name is Amelie.” The boy clarified. “Ahem, in that future, we found her in the sarcophagus with the butterfly pin and peacock brooch, but the kwami were dead, and … ugh … and other two wielders of the miraculous who were actually bad ...”

“Right, Amelie caught the same fate as your mother and there were other two wielders to abuse their powers, thank you for telling me.” He smiled. “But you fixed it and now you’re here and still worried about it. Old brain.” He put his index finger onto his head.

Adrien took Tenzin and they slowly descended the stairs and went into another small room where they found Amelie hunched over Emilie’s body. But Tenzin motioned for the two of them to stay just outside of the room and stay quiet.

“I’m so sorry Emilie, I did not want you to do that for me … no, that is a lie, I wanted it and I needed it and you did it, you made him for me, but not at this price, I did not want a son if it cost me my sister, if your dear boy Adrien has to grow up without a parent.” She sniffed.

Adrien felt the tears roll down his face too.

“I haven’t seen you for more than a year. You really look so alive, as if you have fallen asleep in this suit and with make up on. Why haven’t they changed you? I know how much you liked to be stylish how much you cared for clothes, but this? While in a coma? Too much!” Amelie continued.

Adrien almost chuckled to that, it was definitely something his mother loved to wear but it was also something she would never sleep in and her sister knew her so well.

“And it irritates me to see you dressed up like this. People do it for a funeral, they dress up their loved ones to bury them, not when they are expecting them to recover, to get healthy again, not when there is still hope … “ She trailed off and hitched a breath.

The boy nodded while he listened to his aunt’s rant, he had to agree with that.

“I was looking for the ring, the other ring, the one you used for Felix, I think, but I see it is not in your hands. I need that ring Emilie, I need to try and continue to do what you have been doing, I need to help him grow and make sure he doesn’t hurt anyone.” The woman spoke gently.

Adrien clenched his fists.

“He hurt Adrien’s friends last time we came over for a visit, Gabriel wouldn’t give me back the rings, but Felix took one straight from his ring finger.” She chuckled. “He is pulling pranks constantly, but he is only jealous of Adrien and his popularity, I think … “

The boy inhaled slowly. He should not be eavesdropping, but he should not interrupt her for what she came there and it wasn’t like he was able to just walk away.

“Your stuck up husband terrorized Paris to get the miraculous of Ladybug and Chat Noir to make a wish and bring you back. Stupid man! If he did that, he was about to lose someone else. And he gave your miraculous to Nathalie.” She whispered.

Adrien hardly breathed, he needed to know if his aunt knew his father was Hawk Moth the whole time.

“I had no idea, I mean, I should have known, but Daniel fell ill and died, we were in London, these akuma things appeared in Paris and it was not as if I knew what kind of a stupid nickname would Gabriel invent for himself.” She chuckled.

There was an answer he needed.

“But I understand him, if I was able to make a wish, to bring you back, to bring Daniel back, to fix Felix … to make him … he is real to me, you know he is real to me, he is a real boy, you really did a remarkable job, the doctors do not notice anything. He’s real.” She sounded really persuasive.

And Adrien knew she lied to herself and she knew she was lying.

“So, I have spoken to these Ladybug and Chat Noir, they are just kids, you know? And they might bring you back using the magic. I just wish I knew why you ended up this way, that stuck up Gabriel is surely responsible but would not admit it even to himself.” She took in a shaky breath.

The boy that listened was not sure if he was angry, sad, desperate or what.

“I wish … I wish you never found that stupid brooch and that stupid pin and why did you share that with Gabriel? You weren’t so close! Is it just because Daniel popped over and I left you … I left you alone did I? I dropped everything for Daniel when he came over to our photos shoot here and you were left alone and cold in the night and you had nobody but Gabriel.” She sniffled.

Adrien knew what he read from the diary, he considered his mother and Gabriel ‘close’ at that moment, but he was only fourteen and he did not know what the woman of forty meant by that.

“Adrien is here, I wish he came over and stopped my rambling, but I have so much to tell you. I’ve decided to move to Paris and take over what was left of the business after your husband made a promotional move of the century and became a supervillain.” She laughed softly.

The boy was ready to step in he was just behind the tapestry that hid the entrance.

“I just wish I knew what he was doing with that miraculous of his all these years. I know you told me he used it on you and you did not remember what happened but he explained it was for the fashion … well I doubt that now, I want to know.” She insisted.

He wanted to step in but he also wanted to hear if she had anything more to say.

“Adrien, if you are behind the door you can come in now.” Amelie called and the boy moved the tapestry to the side and entered slowly, his head low to hide his expression, he had been eavesdropping and he was caught. “Please, don’t mind me, you can talk to your mother.”

“Hi mum.” He greeted. It was about ten days ago when he said goodbye and he was back. She was exactly as he remembered, the same suit and the hair, the monks set several colourful stones around her, probably for some prayers or a little magic, she was laid on several cushions.

“Um, aunt Amelie asked for a visit from Ladybug and they brought me too. I … um … I live with my friend Nino now, he has a little brother, we play video games and listen to the music and talk. His parents are nice.” He glanced towards his aunt who smiled encouragingly.

“Marinette and her parents have been nice to me too, I spend a lot of time with her.” He smiled dreamily and blushed. He knew he had to be carefully what he said at that moment, he wasn’t able to just pour out his heart and soul.

“Father is in prison.” He inhaled sharply. “I’m back in school and I love it. Felix goes to my class now. He likes to dress up as me … well he dresses up as I used to. He’s quite a ladies man. And well, Marinette makes me happy, it is going to be okay, I’m going to be okay.”

He felt Amelie put her hands on his shoulders from the back and he appreciated the contact, it was comforting. They stood in silence for some time before Dorje returned and motioned for them to say goodbyes and leave.

“You know, I was hoping that you and Felix and me might be a family one day. But I still hope that that miraculous cure might bring Emilie back.” She took in a shaky breath. “And it is okay if you don’t want that and would rather live with your friend, I’m fine with that if we stay close.”

Adrien nodded although he was still not certain what she meant by close.

“And there was a ring, a wedding ring, your father and your mother used to wear them. I have one, but it is imperative that I get the other ring, it is really important for me Adrien, I can’t explain it right now and I’m afraid that your father has it.” She continued.

Adrien winced. The memory from the night before flushed before his eyes, his clawed black clad hand over his father’s mouth, his father’s hand on his wrist and there was a ring on that hand. It was right there before his eyes and close to his fingers, and he did not take it.

They found Ladybug, Pema and Peagasus in deep conversation. Amelie soon joined the conversation and thanked them for bringing her there. It meant a lot to her to see the state of her sister for herself, to know to feel it real.

They talked a little more about what could have happened to Emilie without revealing much, each side very careful because they had too much to lose if they admitted to everything they knew. Amelie did not know about the diaries, and she did not want to tell about Felix.

“I have an idea.” Amelie smiled. “When Ladybug and Chat Noir offered to take me to this temple I was … “ She opened her bag and produced a phone. “I’d like you to send me any updates on my sister using this device.” She offered the phone to Pema who looked at Ladybug who nodded.

“It is just some basic set up, you have my number memorized, I hope you learn how to use it.” She smiled. “In any case, if you have any questions, do not hesitate to call me, just press the button next to my picture in the call book.”

Peagasus created a portal and the two heroes and two civilians passed through the orange portal and returned to Adrien’s room. Ladybug told Peagasus to go back home and that Chat Noir was going to pick up the horse miraculous from him.

“See you later.” The red hero with black spots greeted Adrien and took Amelie back to the hotel. The woman expressed her gratitude and hope that there was a way to bring her sister back. She felt guilty for not telling the hero the whole truth, she wanted to, but not at the price of her son.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope it wasn't too much angst.


	38. We Need To Talk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien pours all his concerns

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just kids trying to make themselves feel better

We Need to Talk

“We need to talk.” Were the firs words Chat uttered while he dropped on Marinette’s bed. He just collected the glasses from Peagasus and the whole way back to Marinette’s he felt like he should have just left the boy with the miraculous, that he was going to be needed in the future.

“You don’t want us to destroy Felix.” Marinette stated firmly. That wasn’t news for her, neither Amelie nor Adrien were ready to do that step, even if the boy was a sentimonster. The by and his aunt just returned from where they saw the body of his mother and it must have affected them.

“Well, I’m not so sure about that speaking for myself.” The boy might be willing to do that just to bring his mother back, but then his aunt was going to be sad for losing her son. “I was thinking how we should go and visit the temple from time to time.” He put the glasses in the miracle box.

“I miss them too.” She admitted quietly. “We face a new issue each day and fighting akuma suddenly seems much easier that what we are facing right now.” That was almost a routine just before they left for China.

“I agree.” Adrien looked at his girlfriend. She was sitting on the bed, there was faint light coming from her desk where she left it on since they were reading the Book of Lore just before they started on they journey for the night.

“It is late.” She yawned and looked at Adrien, his blonde hair was everywhere, like a halo and his green eyes definitely could shine in the dark even when he wasn’t transformed. She had Adrien in her bed in her room and suddenly blushed at the implications, although that happened every night.

“It is, but we don’t have school tomorrow.” He crawled over her. He liked it when she blushed, he liked her rosy cheeks and her eyes were shining and looking everywhere and … and then he leaned in and kissed her again.

When they stopped kissing, they were cuddled together, wrapped in each other’s arms and Marinette put her head on his shoulder, just to catch some air and try to make sense of what they were doing, but he did not try to kiss her again.

“We have a problem.” Adrien stated quietly, his tone was gentle and his hand moved over her back as if he was trying to soothe her. Marinette did not know what kind of a problem he was talking about and was not sure if she wanted to know.

What was wrong with just cuddling together for the night, she knew he needed that after everything he’s been through, and she could do that cuddling and some kissing, but not more, yes she imagined more in her head, but it was not like she wanted to do any of that for real, yet.

Then again, if he asked her, if Adrien wanted it, she wasn’t sure she had the strength to say no. Maybe to postpone it a little bit, to go in slow steps to … she was getting flustered and blushed and was glad he was not able to see her face because even her thoughts stuttered and stammered.

“It is my aunt Amelie.” Adrien continued after a few breaths. Marinette suddenly inhaled sharply. So it wasn’t that, she exhaled slowly relieved, but then the second thought consumed her. His aunt probably changed her mind, wanted custody, wanted to take him to London …

Okay, okay, Marinette, don’t catastrophise, first of all Felix is in their class already, maybe Amelie just wants him to move back in to the Agreste mansion, perhaps she got some kind of a deal with Andre and Audrey maybe …

“She wants my mother back … too.” The boy continued after a pause in which he contemplated just how to form that sentence, he decided to add the last word. It was Gabriel who wanted Emilie back, but Adrien wanted her too, the difference was the price they were willing to pay.

“Oh” Marinette held the boy tighter, she knew he wanted his mother too, and whatever he had in mind was potentially dangerous. He had the black cat miraculous on his finger, she had the earrings on her ears, and the Book of Lore was in the trunk, and he knew how to read it.

No, it wasn’t that, he was not like his father, he would never propose such a thing. Besides, they just took Amelie to see Emilie and the woman knew what the options were and she did not ask for it herself, because she knew the price. And she was sure Adrien wouldn’t either.

“Don’t worry, I don’t think she would go for your earrings and my ring now that she knows what’s the price, but she trusts Ladybug and Chat Noir to find what really went wrong and try to bring her back using the miraculous Ladybug magic.” Adrien continued.

“But she understands that it might destroy Felix in the process.” Marinette cut in. “That is the reason she never told us about him.” And that was the reason not to tell her that they knew. The situation was nauseas and frustrating at the same time.

“Well, we are going to find out what happened and then we will try to fix it, but … I’m not sure how I feel about the whole thing.” The boy looked at the rooftop window. “I mean, if we have to destroy Felix, I know he’s a sentimonster but still, what makes it different than the wish?”

Plagg snored after he devoured a piece of cheese, he did not even care to move from the plate where he found the cheese. Tikki nibbled on a cookie and listened, her eyes half closed, apparently both of them were rather disinterested in this existential rant.

“I though I would hate Felix when I see him, that I would hold him responsible for the state of my mother but … I don’t and after I read her diaries, even less, it wasn’t even aunt Amelie’s decision, my mother did it on her own.” The boy tried to explain.

Marinette held his hand firmly, and he held her back, grateful to have that security ling while he opened his heart and soul and rather confused mind and rant about everything that just swirled around like whirlwind without any control.

“I see why my mother did that, she saw that her sister was devastated and she just did it, she was making other stuff all the time, apparently, so she made Felix too.” He added. “And now, in order to bring her back, we might have to destroy him.”

He pulled her into a hug and held her like a giant teddy bear, it was similar to the way he held her close when they were on their way to China, but the anxiety he felt was rather different, because then he knew what he wanted, now he did not have a clue, he just needed an ear, someone to listen.

“I thought … I thought I was going to jump to the opportunity, you know, I thought I would, but aunt Amelie cares for him so much, she loves him, like he is her son. And I … I don’t hate him, I don’t resent him. And it was my mum who made him.” The boy held Marinette really hard.

Marinette found a way to breathe and wiggled a little to make space for her lungs to expand, finally the boy loosened his grip on her, if only a fraction to allow her to breathe. She stroke his back in hope to soothe him.

“I mean … you saw her diary, how much my mother invested into making Felix, how happy she was that it worked out, she was proud of her achievement of each little step he made.” As proud as she was for her own son, because they were both hers, in one way or another, she made them both.

There was something in his voice, as if he now knew that he shared his mother with Felix, that his own mother also followed Felix the way she followed his own ups and downs, his own successes and achievements, and was connected with him.

“That’s okay, he’s your cousin.” She managed to say. It was normal to love your nephews and nieces right? And his aunt probably loved him, no, she was sure Amelie loved Adrien. But the boy shook his head (and shook her own head because eh held her that close).

“He is not just my cousin, he is an exact copy of me, I think my mother created something like an identical twin. Gabriel always claimed that my mother was unique, but she had an identical twin, it turns out I am not unique either, I have an identical twin too.” He elaborated.

“But you are unique, you are different persons, Amelie and your mother, they are different persons too.” She tried to bring some comfort to the boy, she knew wow much his aunt reminded him of his mother, but she believed that they had different personalities.

“What if … what if we destroyed a sentimonster she created, I mean Felix, not something else we might find, and then we bring my mother back and she learned what we did and what my father did … she wouldn’t like that.” The boy concluded.

“You are probably right, she made Felix and wanted him to prosper, she would not like if we destroyed him, even if we brought her back.” She concluded.

“My mother wielded a miraculous just like my father did, she … got herself into trouble … herself. And Felix, he is not really my cousin, he is a sentimonster. And I think Amelie knows this and understands the issues but … “ The boy had difficulties breathing.

Marinette let him try to settle down, she wasn’t expecting him to find fault with his own mother, who used to be perfect for him, but now he learned that she had secrets, that she used him, in a way, to help her sister, it was her choice to do that and to keep doing that, Amelie was right.

“As … as a guardian of the miraculous box I should consider what my parents did and its consequences in some kind of objective way … “ He trailed off. It was hard to hate his own parents, to be ashamed of them yes, to be angry at them too, but not to really hate them.

“Nobody is ever truly objective, Adrien. I know I never was. But … while I was in the cave I had time to think. It was your mother who found the miraculous, right?” She did not even make a pause for him to confirm. “What if she was meant to find it?”

“Oh” Adrien suddenly felt much lighter.

“That is entirely possible Marinette.” Tikki chirped as she floated up from the desk.

“That makes sense, too bad you never stumble upon a piece of Camembert.” Plagg added sleepily from the plate where he pretended to be asleep for most of the conversation.

“That is because you ate it all first.” Adrien brushed of the tiny glutton.

“That book and the brooch and the pin were there for a century and a half. I know it is not heavily populated, but somebody might have stumbled over and never noticed, perhaps she was meant to find them, perhaps she was chosen, just not by a guardian.” Marinette whispered.

“You mean like … by accident, like Chloe and the bee miraculous. I know she was also a disappointment sometimes but you cant say that she is not good to wield that power, both as for good as when she is consumed by evil she is difficult to beat.” Adrien concluded.

“She found two miraculous, and she chose one, the peacock. What if she was meant to wear the butterfly miraculous and just made a mistake there, or what if she was meant to give the other miraculous to someone else, someone close to her but not Gabriel.” She was thinking out loud.

“Amelie, she said something, like Gabriel and my mother were not even close. I mean, I thought they were close, after everything I read … “ He blushed in the dark, it was awkward to read that. “ or mostly skipped in her diary.”

“But she was probably closer to her sister!” Marinette exclaimed. “Think about it, they walked around each day, the two sisters, whenever they caught some time, they were meant to find it, but they were never alone and ...”

“That is not how I remember what we read the other day.” Adrien was deep in his thoughts, the diaries were in his room at Nino’s and it was for the better, if they tried to read them again, they would not fall asleep until the morning.

“Sometimes I do not mention in the diary what I simply do every day, only what is different.” Marinette explained. “It is not like a writer telling a story, she did not write each detail just the things she thought she might forget.”

“Okay.” He wasn’t ready to admit that he kept some kind of notes on his life that could have been considered a diary too. But those notes definitely contained stuff that he would probably never forget, like those cheesy odes for Ladybug, that he just might show her one day.

“I have a feeling, in fact I feel like I know, I can’t explain it, but your mother and Amelie, I think they were supposed to use the two miraculous and find their way back to master Fu or … “ She trailed off. “Or the sentimonster that was still buried there.”

“But they would not have beaten it and in fact Feast would have followed them and try to eat them, well, their miraculous if it woke up or … it doesn’t make sense.” He was trying to explain the idea away, or to support it with what they knew.

“No, it doesn’t, besides, I’m not sure why I think Gabriel was never meant to have the miraculous, perhaps it is just his actions, the things that he’d done after your mother … “ She trailed off. Yeah, he might have been a good wielder of a butterfly miraculous if only he did not abuse it.

“Father thought the only way to bring my mother back was to get our miraculous, but you brought back people that were hurt by magic, you brought me back. Father said that mother got ill because she made Felix. But what if he was wrong?” Adrien pondered.

“What … what if he was right?” She whispered. After all, she knew a lot about fooling herself. Sometimes she was right and sometimes wrong. “Because it is easy to believe that he was wrong and search for some other reason for all eternity, but what if he was right?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And inventing theories.


	39. Rainy Morning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some fluff and feelings on a sleepy morning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Much less angst than the previous one.

Rainy morning

The next morning was hard. Marinette actually promised to help out in the bakery and her mother popped out through the hatch door to call her daughter, she did not venture further into the room for she would have noticed that the bed had two occupants and not just one.

“We overslept.” Marinette whispered in panic once the trap door was closed again. She was wide awake, panicked and distressed, but Adrien was cuddly, he held her close and wanted to steal a few more moments before he transformed and went away.

“I think it is still early for Nino.” Adrien smiled as he checked the time with her. “We have a fencing tournament at noon, remember?” He pulled her closer and kissed her cheek. She blushed and melted but then her eyes popped open again.

“Yeah, but I will have to do the warm up in the bakery.” She whispered back as she started to wiggle out of the blankets and his arms (and somehow his arms found their way back around her no matter how many times she unwrapped herself.

“You want me to come over and help?” He only half teased. He would be glad to return as Adrien and help out and spend more time with Tom and Sabine and of course, Marinette. He had sufficient freedom at Nino’s to make such decisions for himself.

“As you wish … in fact, I better ask papa or, I don’t know, too early.” She yawned and Adrien laughed. “No, have your time with Nino and get some rest, it is still really early.” The darkness outside confirmed her words.

“As you wish Princess.” He whispered and transformed into Chat Noir, he lingered for one more kiss before he climbed up her skylight. He opened it and looked around carefully, to his relief he did not see much.

“Be careful not to be seen.” She warned. There was that constant fear that Bunnix was coming over again to take them to fix some other future because they made an error again, unsure what actually went wrong the last time and if they fixed that at all.

“It is still dark, and I’m wearing black” He turned back through the skylight and winked before he closed it and turned away. The tiny droplets refreshed Marinette’s face and she turned away, it was time to get up and face the world, or at least her parents in the bakery.

“Oh, Tikki, it is so early, I barely got any sleep.” Marinette whined to her kwami while she got herself ready to go downstairs. The clock mocked her, she did not even try to cumpute how few hours it was since they finally fell asleep.

“Well, you could tell your mother that you are too tired, I’m sure they’ll understand.” Tikki chirped in cheerfully although her eyes were worried, her chosen looked tired, she was physically and emotionally exhausted.

“No, Tikki, I promised, besides this is just another morning after a nightly akuma fight.” Marinette concluded. Except she spent literally each night that week fighting or thinking or reading diaries or retrieving some magical books and …

Marinette stumbled down into the bakery, it was still dark outside, but it wasn’t night, thick clouds covered Paris with dull quiet rain, a drizzle, surprisingly light precipitation from such dark skies and thick clouds, one would expect strong wind, pouring rain, lighting and thunder.

“Perfect weather to stay in bed.” Sabine yawned. Tom and Marinette followed suit. It was contagious. All three of them stared out through the bakery windows when one of the ovens pinged and they suddenly stirred back into motion.

Sabine stepped forward and flipped the sign to ‘open’. Tom went into the kitchen and quickly rolled the next round of croissants while Marinette identified which oven to open and empty. Then she returned with a full tray full of raw pastry.

“We will need you only through the morning rush. After the customers stop rushing in, you can go back upstairs, dear.” Tom cooed while he filled one more tray. He felt sorry for waking up his daughter that early, but it was difficult for two people alone.

Soon, it was clear why Marinette was needed. The shop was full and she was filling the paper bags with orders while her mother handled the counter. As soon as the number of people reduced, Marinette was bringing more pastries from the bakery to fill in.

Sabine remained cheerful and Tom whistled while he decorated cakes that were going to be picked up during the day, it was a Saturday, and people always bought more, for the whole weekend, for parties and birthdays and Sunday lunches.

Marinette had no time to dwell over why people wanted this or that, she worked on autopilot. She did stumble a few times, caught by her parents or simply let the tray slide along the floor while she caught herself splayed over.

But the rush hour seemed to never stop. Her father was making more pastries and bread and cookies and macarons and her mother was selling more than they were used to. Even in the bad weather, people flowed into the bakery.

“Glad you are back in business.”

“Finally had a vacation?”

“We missed you!”

“Was that your daughter fighting Hawk Moth?”

Everyone had a few kind words and everyone wanted at least a piece of pastry and perhaps a piece of information too, and a kind word and a glance at tired and sleepy Marinette who quietly went about her chores on autopilot.

“Hello.” Nadia Chamack greeted with her daughter in tow. “Oh, I don’t need babysitting today, I just came around to see if you saw our news special last night about the fight with Hawk Moth and your travel to China and how he got defeated?”

“Um, no?” Marinette muttered after her initial greeting. Manon looked at her with wide eyes and sucked on her lollipop that was red with black spots, of course.

“I just promised my daughter to see you this morning. She thinks as highly of you as if you were Ladybug.” The journalist laughed.

Marinette released a strained laugh.

“Please say hallo to Adrien for me! I hope he is doing well after everything that happened.” The woman greeted before she got out from the shop with a ding of the bell.

Marinette continued to work in the bakery almost until the fencing tournament.

“It might have been an error to ask her to help out in the bakery Tom.” Sabine whispered. “Many of the customers this morning dropped in just to catch a glimpse of her.” She warned her husband quietly while she eyes another group of people that were just outside the bakery door.

“I guess you might be right, I did not see much from the kitchen.” He admitted and observed the same group quietly.

Adrien had a much easier morning. He was in his bed until Chris burst into his room, which was not particularly early. The problem is, he did not sleep, the thoughts of his mother, aunt and cousin flooded over his mind. And of course, the thoughts of Marinette. He smiled gently.

It wasn’t hard to get up, he liked his best friend Nino, they got along well, he liked having Chris around although the boy was a pest, especially about electronic gadgets that could play games in any form. And he liked Nino’s mum, she was motherly but not overwhelming.

He had no idea if he liked Nino’s father. The man was not much outgoing nor easy going, but perhaps he just needed more time. They all tried to make this work, but not too hard, it was a work in progress.

Adrien and Nino dragged Chris to breakfast together. Adrien knew he had little sleep and he was exceptionally tired, probably the whole week accumulated, especially after that night when they restored the two kwami and cured them.

The boys were expected to tidy up their own rooms. And that was an easy task for Adrien. Back in the mansion, either he kept it tidy, or someone else did it for him, and he preferred his privacy, so he put away his things easily.

Then Nino burst in with the vacuum cleaner and Adrien’s first association was kwami buster (Plagg’s probably too, although he would have phased under the bed in panic anyway). The boys finished that task quickly too and everything was fine until Chris came around.

“Boys, I need some time to do shopping and house work, would you please mind Chris for a while?” Mme Lahiffe asked quietly. Perhaps she was tired too, or just lacked enthusiasm to actually go outside in that weather. Whatever it was, she managed a small smile that did not reach her tired and concerned eyes before she checked if she had everything in her purse.

“Sure” They answered in unison. It was the usual drill, as far as Adrien understood.

“So, the weather outside sucks, so no park, how about some games?” Nino offered.

“Please don’t hang in front of the screen the whole morning.” Mme Lahiffe asked while she put on her shoes and took the umbrella.

“What about board games?” Adrien inquired. He was able to play video games all he wanted, but seldom had a chance to play board games because he was always alone.

“Yeah, dude!” Nino offered his fist for a fist bump and Adrien joined. Chris pouted.

It took some whining (from Chris) and a lot of persuasion (from Nino) and more whining (from Adrien who impersonated Chris and repeated everything the little boy said and the way he said it) for Chris to accept a board game and they started to play.

And the older boys had to lose if they wanted to keep the little boy entertained.

Felix had breakfast with his mother, who looked tired and distressed. Amelie glanced towards him and smiled over her coffee. She hugged the cup and took a sip, but did not touch her food.

“Perhaps you should rest today mother.” The boy suggested. He knew she was busy with taking over the company, but that morning her appearance suggested it was all getting a bit too much for her.

“Oh, I just didn’t get as much sleep as I usually do.” Amelie smiled. “I will be fine.”

“You don’t have to come for the fencing tournament, it is not going to be much anyway.” The boy continued.

“Oh, I wouldn’t miss it for the world!” Amelie exclaimed. “I don’t care how tired I am.” She yawned. “You know how much it means to me.”

“Okay, but please don’t let this Gabriel business let you fall ill.” Felix smiled. That made Amelie gulp down her tea faster than she intended, the memories of her sister who had fallen so ill that she was in some kind of magical coma were too fresh.

“Besides, it is your first tournament for D’Argencourt academy, I simply have to be there.” She smiled. “Adrien is going to have a few duels too, right?”

There was a flash of something, maybe jealousy, over Felix’s face, at the mention of his cousin. He lived his whole life being compared to his cousin, being told how they looked the same and he strived so much to be different.

“Yes, all the fencers from the academy are going to be there.” Felix noted. “I planned to have a walk.” He looked outside, dark and wet weather was insufficient to deter someone who grew up in London from a walk outside. “And then I will return just before to pick up my gear.”

“Very well, may I join you just for part of a walk? I need to stretch my legs but I’d prefer to keep it short.” Amelie smiled gently.

“Of course.” The boy was not about to deny his mother such request.

Indeed, a quarter of an hour into the walk Amelie decided to turn around while Felix just began to enjoy the walk and the weather (yeah, the weather too), because the streets were almost void of pedestrians and whoever was outside just hurried after their business.

The boy wandered through the streets with no particular plan except to meet nobody and to talk to nobody. He avoided puddles of water and held onto his umbrella and avoided running into other people as much as he avoided them running into him, and their dogs.

Then he found himself in front of a bakery. He knew the address, his mother and him visited briefly on their fits day. The bakery shop was full, he was able to see through the shop windows, the lights inside were on because it was so dark outside.

He saw Tom when he peeked from the bakery kitchen, he noticed Sabine at the cash registry and then he saw familiar pigtails of his classmate and the girlfriend of his cousin. She looked tired and distressed and needed time to manoeuvre some pastries in the box and arrange them.

It was easy to observe from afar like this, a normal girl, helping out her parents in the bakery, there was absolutely nothing special about her, yet his cousin, whom everyone considered special, perfect even, fell in love with her.

But then he remembered what he saw, how she fought his uncle and his assistant, well in fact she fought Hawk Moth and Mayura, two supervillains, along his cousin and a few more civilians, and they won, so there was something special about this girl.

Finally, he decided not to be caught staring at the bakery so he continued to walk and stumbled upon a pleasant small park hidden between the streets and blocks of buildings. It would have been a far more pleasant place without the rain, but he ignored it.

The park was exactly what he was looking for, a place void of people, because who went to park when it was raining like this? That hotel was too crowded for his liking, the school was full of people, he needed time and space just for himself.

He walked around the park and watched the path just in front of his feet not to step into a puddle and make it all awkwardly wet with water in his shoes, he listened to the sound of rain on his umbrella and finally he was satisfied and alone.

His heard settled in a steady pace, this night he felt agitated and the night before he woke up just after he fell asleep and felt disturbed and angry as if something was taken from him. It was probably a nightmare, but he forgot the details as soon as he woke up.

He raised his eyes by chance and then he saw her. He wasn’t in the park alone after all. Because there, in the dull steady rain of the morning, Kagami practised her moves with a sword that looked much like the aikido sword from what he was able to tell from that distance.

Kagami practised alone, at least she did not have any opponent to practise with, she aimed at raindrops and hit and stroke and turned and stroke again. He found her magnificent to watch, the determination, the strength, the beauty … ahem, he looked to the side for a moment.

Wait, it is not like anyone else knew how he felt, so yes the poetry of her movement, each strike strong and to the point, it looked like dancing, she moved slowly and then quickly completely unaffected by the change in pace that she imposed on herself.

Felix probably stared creepily for some time, his eyes glued to the girl that practised, he was partially hidden by a tree he stood underneath and of course his umbrella and his raincoat. And he smiled, he allowed himself that, because nobody was watching.

Then he noticed slight movement under another tree in the park and glanced that way. He assumed it was another Parisian walking a dog, but there was a woman, a Japanese woman, a woman that was clearly Kagami’s mother and her face was turned as if she looked straight at him.

At first, he wanted to take a step back, because he was noticed, because he stared and smiled and was seen, but then he noticed the white stick and the dark glasses on the woman and he released a long relieved breath, she did not see him, she couldn’t.

The mother and the daughter exchanged a few words and walked to the exit from the park where a red car was waiting for them. They entered the car and it drove away, and Felix was alone again, but this time he was not happy about it, he missed someone, not to talk to, just to be there.

He took one more breath in and walked back to the hotel, it was time to get some snack, his morning tea and prepare for the fencing tournament. He was going to see her again today. And he was going to win.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And then, the tournament.


	40. Touche

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The fencing tournament

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> just a few interactions

Touché

The rain stopped, but the clouds were still heavy when Adrien and Nino walked out from the building. The blonde model carried his fencing gear, the DJ had his phones around his neck and his red cap. They had their time to reach the school, Nino’s mother returned from shopping a while ago.

“Honestly, dude, I was wondering if it was worth the trouble to go out this morning.” Nino looked at the skies that were still severely grey. “I mean, it was worse and it looks better now, but I guess nothing is stopping you now.” He grinned.

“The rain had stopped, we can hope the skies are going to clear up, but we can all still go to Juleka’s as long as it is not raining.” Adrien shrugged. He was going to hang out with his friends, it was allowed, nobody needed files on his classmates three generations back to allow him.

“Hey girl!” Alya greeted as she burst into the bakery. “Your first fencing tournament and you are still covered in flour!” She was quickly behind the counter, greeted Sabine then Tom and dragged her best friend upstairs.

Marinette was not overly excited, she was mostly tired and her mind was somewhere else the whole morning. She showered and cleaned and dressed herself in record time, probably because she wasn’t overthinking it, or not thinking about that at all.

“Girl, are you still in those mountains with Adrien? Because I can for sure see that you’re not here!” Alya snickered. “Nino tells me Adrien is like that all the time too. You two are such dorks in love.” The journalist fiddled with her phone while she waited for her friend.

Marinette brushed her hair quickly and tied them into her usual pigtails. Yeah, she blushed too at the mention of Adrien as her boyfriend, she had to get used to that label, and somehow that was completely different than what she already got used to – sharing anything to sleep on.

“The rest of the girls are waiting in front of school. Alix spray painted a banner on her bed sheet.” Alya announced. “Come on, hurry up or you’ll be late. And please act surprised when you see the sheet because it was supposed to be a surprise.”

It was unusually crowded in front of the school, and noisy, the whole class was there, plus a few friends, and then there were other students, teachers, parents, reporters … reporters? Yes right, they were not allowed on school days, but this was a sporting event.

“Ugh.” Marinette muttered her dissatisfaction quietly, she had no energy for that, but she smiled widely at the sight of the banner made by Alix. It was so big that it was held by Ivan and Kim and the two girls joined the rest of the group quickly.

“Someone said that the heroes are going to watch you in this tournament so there are journalists.” Rose spoke softly as if it was a big secret. “Will Ladybug and Chat Noir come over to watch?”

“No, I don’t think so.” Marinette shook her head. Right, the two heroes were long overdue for some public events and interviews, they made only a brief appearance and were busy with the investigation that they completely forgot how hungry the public was for anything from them.

Adrien and Nino joined in. The boy studied the message on the banner made by Alix and laughed, it looked loud in that graffiti choice of colours and font, he liked it. It was a simple and generic message, but the colours gave it power.

A familiar car approached, the silver limousine that used to take Adrien around, driven by the same driver. Adrien stepped forward to greet the man and they exchanged smiles and nods before the man opened the door for Amelie and Felix.

The boy carried his duffel bag and acknowledged his classmates with a greeting, but his eyes searched the crowds for someone else. Amelie, walked all the way to Adrien and hugged him and wished him all the best before she studied the banner and laughed sincerely from the heart.

Felix’s eyes searched and searched, but she wasn’t there, he was in his usual shirt, vest and tie outfit and stood out from the crowds in his calm manners and posture as well as the grey clothing, and then a familiar red car slowly approached up the street.

The boy focused so much on the red car he did not see anything around him, not even a white limo nor a blonde girl in flashy clothes who walked out from it, he did not smile, nor grin nor reveal any emotion about the girl in that red car, but he also did not see anything else.

“Felix.” Chloe exclaimed and pulled him closer to exchange kisses in the cheek, well bisou usually meant to kiss the air but plenty of people kissed the cheek, and she aimed straight at that.

The crowd was big and Felix was not able to see the car, he turned his attention towards Chloe and greeted her polite, although he was annoyed by her straightforward approach. In fact he was not annoyed by the approach, it was just the fact that she did it just then.

“Hello Chloe.” A smile escaped his lips while he greeted. The girl was determined to latch onto his arm, but he expertly sneaked out from her clutch. Slightly disappointed, she stepped slightly closer and that was when she noticed the banner.

“Ridiculous, utterly ridiculous!” She sputtered, you should mention all the fencers from our school, not just Adrien and Marinette. I’m sure Felix is much better fencer.” She pouted, but she wasn’t joined by Felix in her antics, he turned his focus entirely towards another girl.

Kagami got out of the car surprised by the number of people there, but she never showed it. She stepped out from the car and waited for her mother, first there was a white stick, then a foot and then a head wearing the dark glasses and finally a whole woman.

Tomoe always looked like she observed her surroundings. Kagami offered a hand and lead her mother through the crowd straight towards the banner and her friends as she explained to her mother about the banner and what was on it.

“Hello Kagami.” Felix greeted first as he stepped straight in front of the mother and the daughter. He demanded attention, but in subtle way, the three of them at a safe distance although the steps were crowded.

“Hello Felix.” Kagami greeted respectfully, the way you greeted your potential opponents before a tournament. “Mother, this is a new fencer form the academy, Adrien’s cousin Felix I was telling you about. Felix, this is my mother, Tomoe Tsurugi.”

“Pleased to meet you Mme Tsurugi.” The boy knew that the woman should be blind because of the glasses and the stick, but he felt like she had some different sense that scanned straight through him and into his very soul, he felt cold shivers down his spine at her expressionless face.

“Pleased to meet you Felix.” Tomoe added curtly, her face turned towards the boy, but then she moved slightly as if she felt another person approached them. Felix glanced to the side and noticed his mother.

“And this is my mother, Amelie Graham de Vanily.” The boy continued with the introductions slightly nervous from the whole thing, but he hid it well inside, he buried it, because he was never nervous about being introduced to people, annoyed or exasperated yes, but nervous … never.

They continued with the introductions and Felix made it all run smoothly, but his eyes flicked over to Kagami all the time, weather or not she was talking (which was only once) or a subject of the conversation (which was twice) between their mothers.

“It is time for us to go and prepare.” Kagami noted and took a step to the side with her mother.

“Oh, I can help your mother, Kagami, we will find a nice spot to sit and talk while you two can go and prepare for the tournament.” Amelie offered with a smile. It was a polite smile that did not reach her tired eyes.

“Thank you Mme Graham de Vanily, I believe we have a lot to talk about.” Tomoe relied and accepted a hand, it was much easier in crowded places than using just her stick. Felix felt as if he was still being scanned from behind by Tomoe.

Felix walked into school beside Kagami in companionable silence, he was glad she wasn’t asking stupid questions about him being excited or ready and did not ask her anything in return, but it did not last for long.

“Hello Kagami.” Chloe greeted coldly and pushed herself between the two fencers. Then she rambled about such events being dull and how Felix chose dull and boring clothes again and how she hoped he really intended to change his style into something more appropriate.

“There is nothing wrong with your clothes if you feel comfortable.” Kagami cut in while the blode girl continued her rant, the fencer felt like she was pushed away from Felix, like Chloe wanted to interfere with something whatever that was.

The problem was, Kagami did not have a new target yet. She met Luka by accident once and the two of them had a brief conversation, but that was all, she liked his calm demeanour and she found him … interesting? Different? But it wasn’t the same feeling as with Adrien.

Then she also met Felix, who was an exact copy of Adrien when he felt like it, and yet he was more determined, never hesitated in a duel, but maybe he looked like Adrien a bit too much, maybe it was too much and too soon to actually pick a target.

Then why did she want to push Chloe away when she pushed herself between them and then straight on ignored Kagami and talked on and on about totally irrelevant things. Besides, she found Felix’s clothing style acceptable.

Felix noticed a glimpse of something in Kagami’s eyes before they became neutral. Was that jealousy? And why did it make him happy? They stopped in front of a door and waited for Chloe to stop talking but ignored the meaning of her words (if there was any) and waited for her to finish.

“Chloe, would you mind?” Kagami interfered first, she lost her patience and refused to be late for her fencing tournament.

“What?” Chloe screeched and flipped around so quickly that her pony tail almost hit Felix by her side. She acted as if she was surprised that the other girl was still there, and indeed she was, Chloe forgot about Kagami being there.

“Only fencers go behind this door.” Kagami pointed towards the door, calm and composed, her voice did not betray how she felt.

“Oh, yes, right, well have a good fight, I’m off to a prior engagement before the tournament finishes, my hair is a mess in this wet weather and I really need to have it styled by a professional and … “ Chloe rambled long after the two fencers disappeared behind the door.

“You and Chloe?” Kagami inquired from Felix. If the boy was taken or even interested in the mayor’s daughter, she was not going to entertain her thoughts about him, or at least try not to, his likeness to Adrien attracted her weather or not she wanted to admit that.

“My mother and me are staying at Le Grand Paris and we are seat mates now.” No, he was not looking for excuses for excessive attention between him and Chloe, he was just listing the facts as they were, and he omitted the fact that he asked to be seated next to Chloe by chance, okay.

“Okay, I find her unusually annoying.” Kagami stated calmly, there was not a hint of annoyance in her voice. She still revealed no emotions in front of him, although she was always willing to do that with Adrien and Marinette, maybe that was because he was hiding his emotions too?

“Me too.” Felix smiled, he actually smiled. “Ever since we were little. And it is not the fact that she orders everyone around, because I’m used to that.” Because him and his mother ordered people around, but in a different way.

Then Kagami smiled back and they started to exchange stories about how annoying the mayor’s daughter was in different situations until Marinette nervously reminded them it was time to change and prepare.

The pigtailed girl was suddenly really nervous, she just entered the fencing academy, it was pure chance and even more luck that allowed her to be there and now she had to justify her spot in the academy and she did not trust her abilities no, not really.

“Stop doing that to yourself, Marinette.” Kagami smiled. “Do not hesitate and go for an attack!”

“It’s easy for you to say.” Marinette winced at her own words. “I mean, I’m sorry, but I’m just not that good as you.”

“You are not that bad either!” Kagami protested. “Come on, you can do it! You fought Hawk Moth and Mayura, of course you can face any fencer.”

On the other side of the locker room, Adrien had different issues. Felix was rather overconfident in his abilities, which was not a problem per se, just difficult to listen, but then, Adrien was used to listen to ego trips, so he just let the boy be.

The first round was one on one with a member from another fencing academy. Weather it was luck, a weak opponent or some skill, Marinette won her first duel, but when she raised her mask, the girl who lost to her switched her expression from defeated to joy.

“Mother, father, I lost to the girl who defeated Hawk Moth.” She shouted while she ran towards towards her parents in the group of spectators. Marinette deflated, well, it looks like the girl did not know in advance so she did not let her win …

However, the next round brought her against Felix.

“Come on, I know you can do this my Lady.” Adrien whispered and put his hands on her shoulders.

Kagami stepped over in her red gear, passed by Felix and patted Marinette on one shoulder before she proceeded to her own second duel.

Felix was determined to win, and impatient, he lunged first, he ticked he jumped he tried to trip her he tried every trick he knew, but Marinette continued to evade his attack, she barely tried to score a point of her own too busy evading him, but of course, once she got him, it was more of an accident than a real attempt of a counter attack, but it was a point.

That was it, Felix unleashed something he was not aware he had in him, he attacked with such speed and agility that Marinette did not stand a chance, he won a point and then he won another one, but the second time he pushed her, she fell and he landed on top of her.

Marinette felt her heart in her throat, suddenly she was acutely aware that she was facing a sentimonster, and she was Ladybug, although untransformed. Was the sentimonster able to feel the threat from her? Was that why he attacked her?

Felix felt anger and it grew into rage but he focused he directed it into agility and speed, he had to win over that girl, he had to score points, as many as he could, he had to defeat her. And then he stood up out of breath and asked himself _why_ for the first time.

Far away, in Chinese prison, Gabriel Agreste played with his wedding ring while he stared at the picture of Ladybug on the screen of his tablet. That girl stole his book a few nights ago and he was going to have his revenge one way or another.

Then he swiped to the images of the last battle in the temple, his son and that other girl that took the miraculous from him and Nathalie, he was going to have his revenge, and the interview that Lila girl made and he just saw gave him an idea just what he had to do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter might make you sick ...


	41. Astrolabe

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A little story on Alix.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My apologies to all who expected a different chapter, some last minute reordering decision, it fits the time frame much better.

41 Dwelling

Alix played with the watch she got for her fifteenth birthday from her father, she opened and then closed it then opened and then closed again. She was sitting on a chair in front of her computer screen it was late in the evening, but it was a Friday evening.

This wasn’t exactly the same watch as she got for her fifteenth birthday. She smiled. It was the watch she got from the future self, from Bunnix, and the future self took the other watch from her, the one that was working.

This was a broken miraculous, one destroyed by a cataclysm, that was what Bunnix have said when she given it to her, when they made the exchange, so it wasn’t working … or it was, because Bunnix was Bunnix when they found her in that stone.

She turned around on the computer chair, she turned and turned in circles until she got dizzy and then she turned some more, because she was bored, she opened and closed the watch with each circle, and sometimes she changed the direction of the rotation.

She was going to get a miraculous, at least she used to believe that. But she was becoming less certain in the last week. Hawk Moth was defeated. Was there any reason for her to be given a miraculous at all, and a time travelling one on top of that?

Marinette and Adrien defeated Hawk Moth and Mayura, they took their miraculous and the magical jewels were safely stored somewhere, not to be used or at least abused in any recent future. That meant that there were no more akuma or sentimonsters to be expected.

She wasn’t certain if she was getting a miraculous at all. Then she looked at the device in her hand, the silver pocket watch, it was a miraculous, Bunnix told her so, but it wasn’t working … then again she was meant to have it she saw herself from the future, but that was before … the recent events.

Yeah, it was passed to the youngest child in the family. She guessed that meant she wasn’t getting a younger sibling. She chuckled awkwardly when she remembered what that meant. Well, she was fifteen when she got it, so it was plausible back then that she was the youngest child.

The room was spinning around her, but her brain processed movement so well that she wasn’t nauseous. She continued to play with her watch, it was nice, antique and special, but what if it was never meant to be a miraculous, what if it was destroyed forever?

What if Adrien and Marinette changed the future somehow when they defeated Gabriel and Nathalie? What if all those monsters that Bunnix talked about were not about to appear in her lifetime? The future was not set in stone.

She was set in stone for thousands of years until Chat used his cataclysm on the stone and destroyed it and woke her up from her sleep, her stasis, whatever that was. Well he didn’t do it to her, he did it to future her, he was going to do it. She smiled. Yes he was going to.

“Alix?” Her father inquired as he knocked on the door. She was making some noise while she turned around in her chair and it was late at night and her whole home was quiet although everybody was probably awake deep in their own thoughts and theories.

“Hi dad … “ She greeted in a rather disinterested tone. “No, I’m not asleep yet, it is not a school night.” She spoke flatly and did not even look towards the door, she continued to play with her watch, open and close it, nothing appeared.

“Alix, daughter, would you like to know more about that watch?” Alim Kubdel asked cautiously, he was supposed to tell her the story the day he gave her the watch, but he let her go away that day to go and meet her friends for her birthday, the story could wait.

“Hey, dad, I’d like to hear that story too.” Alix clearly heard her brother Jalil from the hallway. Of course her older brother was awake, he was probably interpreting more Egyptian hieroglyphs and had several theories on how they did whatever they did in the ancient kingdom.

Alix was not in the mood to hear any story from her father, or at least any boring story about excavations and family heritage, and she was even less in the mood to listen to any crazy new theory that her brother Jalil had.

But she was bored, it wasn’t a school night, her homework was mostly done (or as done as she was ready to deal with it), save the stupid romantic poem, that was to be done together so she did not touch it, not that she was particularly looking forward to it.

It was the watch that her father wanted to tell her about, but … what if he noticed it wasn’t exactly the same watch, that she switched with Bunnix, wait, the future Alix did tell her it was the same watch, but this one obviously suffered from a cataclysm.

Well, it wasn’t really obvious, she did not see any difference, except, this one did not turn light blue at her touch, did not produce any light blue holographic projections and did not produce a fluffy white rabbit rather confused about what was going to happen and what used to be.

The other problem was that Jalil’s crazy theories have been proven right once he was given a chance to test them (or that one time he took a chance and did it while akumatized, if that was any kind of a proof).

Apparently, her older brother was able to prove his less crazy theories on his own, when funding agencies and his father allowed that, otherwise he would not be considered an accomplished archaeologist at this age.

Alim and Jalil were having an argument in the hallway weather or not Jalil should know the story, and the way they spoke was slightly uncomfortable of the late hours of the evening, but Alix was used to it, they often had scientific discussions at all hours.

“Come on, let’s got to the kitchen and you can tell me all about it.” Alix was already at the kitchen door when she finished talking and her father and her brother barely remembered to stop arguing while she said so, then they turned to each other, each ready to continue.

“And Jalil can listen as far as I’m concerned.” Because she was cool with it, she was embarrassed by his appearance on the TV and some of his theories that he truly believed were true and managed to dig out evidence to support it.

Then her eyes darted towards her father, but she did not see any specific concern there. What if her father was going to tell her that this was a time travelling miraculous and her brother was not supposed to know her superhero identity.

She took a cup and poured some chocolate milk inside. Yeah, she liked the hot chocolate, but she seldom took time to make one, and it was the middle of the night. Her father and brother also poured something in their cups.

She threw herself on a chair after she put the cup on the table. She put the watch on the table. She flicked it open then she closed it, then she flicked it open, then she closed it again. Alim and Jalil exchanged a look and took their seat.

“Could you stop that? It is family heirloom, you should show some respect, and be careful, you’re going to break it … “ Jalil spoke in a rather irritated tone. Alix remembered how the watch was broken once before, and got fixed afterwards although it wasn’t broken by an akuma.

Maybe because it was a miraculous? Maybe because it was breaking the object that caused the akumatization in the first place? Ladybug also cast a cure after Time tagger, did she fix this miraculous again when she did that?

Alim put his hand over Alix’s gently and she finally stopped to open and close the watch and then she turned her eyes towards the man. They stared at each other for a few moments, Alix straightened up and let the watch stay open.

“It doesn’t work.” Alix muttered to her father and then her eyes switched back to the watch. A plain silver watch that showed the correct time but no light blue holographic projection and no secret messages for superheroes.

“What do you mean? It works perfectly!” Jalil countered, grabbed the watch and compared the time on the watch with the time on his phone. Alix leaned forward and her hands followed the watch as if she wanted to grab it from him, but he finally just took her cup and sipped chocolate milk.

“It shows the correct time, I guess.” Alix muttered and took one more sip of her milk. Her father looked at the watch and then looked back at her, then he sighed, then he looked at Jalil, and back at his daughter. “It used to have other functions.” She added.

“What functions? Does it have complications?” Jalil was turning it around. When he did not find anything, he put it back on the table and looked at his sister, then at his father and then back at her and his expression demanded answers to the questions he did not even think how to say.

“This watch can signal us when it is time to do certain things, like pass it on to the next generation.” Alim finally spoke as cryptic as he wanted to, Jalil was his son, it was right for him to know why it wasn’t his heirloom but his younger sister’s.

“But I didn’t find any complications … “ Jalil fiddled with the watch, opened it, turned it around, closed it, turned it around, pressed the winding button and turned it then pulled it back out and nothing happened. Alix wanted to snatch the device back but he held it out of her reach.

“One of our ancestors, he was the youngest in a family so he had no inheritance from his family and had to learn a trade, he served on a merchant’s ship, he travelled as far as China and that was when he got the watch.” Alim explained.

“But you told me that it was made by our ancestor and it was in our family for centuries, or for many generations … “ Alix looked at the watch, she imagined the watch was much older, just because her future self arrived with one in a piece of stone from ancient Egypt.

“That is true, but pocket watch was invented in sixteenth century.” Alim continued in a tone of a teacher explaining a lesson to attentive pupils.

“And why did it go to her? I mean, men used to wear pocket watches, women wore those wrist watches or bracelet watches, you explained to me how Elisabeth I got one … and then it became a fashion.” Jalil protested as he observed the said watch on the table.

Alix stared at her wrist watch, the one that that measured everything she did and how fast she did it and was perfectly synchronised with her phone and it showed all those numbers including the time and she never saw the device as a sign of her femininity.

“The pocket watch always went to the youngest child in a family, I got it for my fifteenth birthday.” Alim continued to explain calmly as he was used to many questions and crazy theories from his older child as much as he was used to impatience from his daughter.

He stared at his daughter and begged her to understand with his eyes, well aware of the jealousy of the older siblings, he had survived that too, now it was her turn. Alix knew plenty about that, Jalil was often put in charge of her, although his grasp for reality was somewhat questionable.

Alix understood that hint as if perhaps she was not supposed to show that watch or the blue hologram to her brother. Perhaps it was a form of a disguise, to mask the watch as nothing special, just like she used to think about it when she first saw it.

“And when your sister, Alix, when she had her fifteenth birthday something happened with this watch and I knew it was time to pass it on to her.” He observed his daughter carefully and she returned one firm nod, then she looked back at the watch and smiled.

So the watch probably showed a hologram to her father that instructed the man to pass it on to his daguther. That made sense actually. So she saw the same hologram in the restaurant when her father opened the watch.

“What happened? Did it stop?” Jalil mocked and teased. Alix rolled her eyes, Alim sighed. But then Jalil’s eyes almost popped out, he ran away to his room and then returned back with some papers and spread them across the table.

“These are the hieroglyphs taken from a tomb, one that was adorned by a piece of stone and look at this part.” He pointed to a hieroglyph that depicted the sign on the miraculous that appeared when Bunnix was using. “I always thought it looked like a pocket watch.”

Alim crossed his arms, but Alix leaned forward.

“Then there is this rabbit here, he is holding a round object with a small depiction of the symbol.” He pointed to another hyerolgyph on another page of the papers scattered on the table. Alix felt cold shivers go down her spine and at the same time she felt giddy.

“But this depiction here.” Jalil pointed to another hieroglyph. Then he extended his arm and reached for the watch that sat on the table. “I’d say it looks exactly as the decoration on this pocket watch.” He held the watch side by side with the picture.

The resemblance was obvious. Alix knew what it was, she knew what it meant and she knew how it all got there, but she was not able to say, because she was hiding an identity she did not even get yet, but she had time, she had to grow and become cool.

“In that case, I would say that the artist who decorated the watch took inspiration from that hieroglyph.” Alim stated with all the authority of the Louvre Egyptian exhibition director.

Alix tried not to release a breath of relief too loudly, but if anyone heard her, they did not give that any significance. She stared at the papers some more, these were the copies of the original hieroglyphs from all the stone pieced that actually stored Bunnix. It was a clue.

Her father continued to talk about this history of chronograph, different time keeping devices through history, especially those excavated in Egypt, as well as several mysterious objects found set in stone and only partially recovered that were thought to be more advanced for their time.

Jalil continued to argue how ancient cultures and societies were able to invented astrolabe and other measuring and computing devices, they were surely able to invent a device that measured time better than a sun dial.

It wasn’t the most boring Friday night she ever spent with her father and her brother, nope, she played some more and annoyed her older brother while she fiddled with the precious family heirloom while the young man developed new crazy theories.

The next day, Alix set aside all her questions about the watch, she woke up early, too early, but inspired, she took the bed sheet from her bed and her spray cans. Marinette made a banner for her race, she was going to make a banner for her classmates and their fencing tournament.

It didn’t take her long once she had an idea, she observed the idea on a sheet of paper and opened her window, she was just going to spray paint a graffiti of their names in silver and light blue, sort of a neon blue and then just add a little green and darker blue for the colours of their eyes.

Just before Alix left her home, she observed the watch once more. She wasn’t sure if she should take it with her or not, but finally she took it and packed it in a small side pocket of the backpack where he put her banner, water bottle and a notebook for her homework.

Alix might have years before she became a wielder of a rabbit miraculous, but she was going to practise patience and be prepared, because when that day arrived, it was going to be a major disaster and she was a weapon of the last resort.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No announcements, I'm still trying to decide which one to put up next, many parallel tracks!


	42. Hidden Meanings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Max thinks to much.  
> And Alix helps ...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Had to go to his side of the problem

Max had a few interesting nights, to say the least. He did not expect to see the heroes again, except if he was expected to appear at some kind of heroes party where they would celebrate the victory. But he understood that the kwami and the magic were not supposed to be used like that.

Besides, they did not ask for his help while they had to defeat all those akuma an sentimonsters in that temple in Tibet during the last two weeks, and they definitely got there somehow. Probably Chat Noir or Ladybug unified their powers with Kaalki.

The thought that the two heroes did it without him, that he wasn’t really needed made him a bit melancholic, if that was indeed the feeling he had? Because he felt a bit too young to be missing the good old times, but that was exactly how he felt.

Then there was the issue that his identity was compromised by the Miracle Queen, or actually Hawk Moth who controlled Chloe’s actions that day, as the girl got akumatized after she saw her parents got akumatized. He did not dwell on that too much, revealing his identity wasn’t his choice.

He was just discussing the theory of relativity with Markov and how the time and the distance and the mass changed with speed, it was a fruitful discussion as the artificial intelligence algorithms he first implemented got upgraded by the robot itself during the discussion of the subject.

The heroes appeared at his window and asked for his services. Of course he said yes. He did not expect them and he did not ask about the details, and he felt like he did not need to ask, if the heroes needed him he was ready to help. But this time it was different.

It wasn’t an akuma fight, it wasn’t a life or death situation. They explained that they needed to retrieve several objects related to the magic of the miraculous that were currently in the possession of Gabriel Agreste and Nathalie Sancoeur.

That was something he accepted as a duty, it wasn’t stealing, he was collecting evidence for the two superheroes, technically, he was breaking and entering, but the heroes had to do such things to fight an akuma and this was probably not much different.

Markov used his algorithms to locate the exact positions of both villains, it wasn’t too hard to do when one considers all the data that the tiny robot managed to access rather easily. Once the two of them decided what was the best future position, Max, well, Peagasus had an easy task.

They located the tablet easily, Ladybug knew exactly which one to take and there was much better and more expensive device right there, in her hands, but she wanted this cheap one, almost a toy, she claimed it wasn’t the tablet, it was the information stored on it.

But then there was Gabriel Agreste. The man was awake when they arrived, but Chat Noir kept him down rather efficiently. They actually needed more time to locate the book in that mess of the prison cell.

And after that night he knew there was something called the Book of Lore and that it contained some kind of a text that explained the secrets of a miraculous. He also knew that Ladybug and Chat Noir shared the duties of a guardian. Well, perhaps not in so many details on the first go.

It was what happened on the next night that blew his mind. He hardly expected to be called for action twice, in two consecutive nights, after Hawk Moth had been defeated and yet he was. But this time, it looked even simpler.

He was just giving them a ride. Well, Chat Noir explained that he wasn’t going this time, that there was no need and he was just going to patrol Paris a little while and left Peagasus to wait for Ladybug on the designated meeting spot.

His passengers were Ladybug, of course, and his classmate Adrien and his aunt. And they were going to a cave near that temple … he got the location rather precisely from Ladybug, it was probably the same one she and Chat Noir used to sneak up for the previous attacks.

He did nto question the purpose too much, there was Adrien’s mother involved and his classmate and the boy’s aunt were both probably distressed too much to talk about it, so Peagasus, the hero that he was, kept his questions to a minimum.

He had plenty of time in that cave to feed his kwami. Ladybug took her time to observe the scenery before he finally peeked out too. They were high on a cliff and the hero told him she shouldn’t go to the temple, that one should not enter the temple transformed.

Even Markov enjoyed the view, it was fantastic. He imagined Adrien and Marinette in that scenery, it was probably romantic once you ignored all the discomfort and the dangers and he was certain they had about 67 percent chance of falling in love there.

But then a woman, a Tibetan monk, ran over down that narrow ledge and greeted Ladybug as an old friend. They quickly passed intorductions, she accepted Markov far better than principal Damocles and Mme Mendeleev and they continued to talk casually.

Well as casually as one talked when he learned that to wield a miraculous one was supposed to spend about seven years in training and schooling in their temple. And he never did that. He felt under-schooled and under-trained for the task he just did.

But apparently, he did it well, the woman called Pema told him, she praised the fact that he made a teleportation portal about half the world (a quarter, he corrected) so precisely. Only the true wielders were able to do that and she promised to recommend him to the teacher.

He and Pema talked unusually well when he considered her history that she briefly elaborated, because it turned out she was born more than two centuries ago, although the woman did not exist for most of that time so she was effectively slightly more than twenty.

They returned in the middle of the night, well it was about one in the morning when he excitedly got himself into his bed but wasn’t able to fall asleep from all the ideas that swarmed his mind and all the concerns that came with each of them.

Because there was something like training for a miraculous wielder and it usually took seven years but because he was already in school and already knew how to use his, it could last much shorter and if Ladybug needed him more, maybe he should engage in that training.

But his life, his school and his friends were in Pairs. But then, he was allowed to take Markov with him. Maybe he was supposed to wait until he was adult, like his mother waited to become an astronaut? Or maybe it was better if he joined now.

Ladybug did not mention him going to Tibet to a temple for seven years but she discussed a need to form a team that was expected to fight any villain that appeared (in the future or in the past, that part was slightly confusing and he hardly followed).

Markov was perhaps more excited than Max about the prospect of going to a temple and learn about ancient scripts that described magic that defied the laws of nature. The boy was far more concerned while he contemplated his options and what to do next.

“I was 98.2 percent certain that the teachers in my school were not ready for the advancement in evolution you represent and I was sorry that I was right, but then we visited that temple and a monk there was more ready to accept you than my science teacher.” Max spoke to his robot.

“If the monks in that temple are teaching the magic of the miraculous and they live in an enchanted temple that protects from magic and they just skipped about 174 years nine months five days twelve hours and 55.2 seconds then I would assume … “ Markov elaborated.

“But they skipped all the technology evolution, all the changes in the society that happened during all those years and we have taken for granted. I told that monk that my mother is studying to become an astronaut and she did not even blink.” The boy cut in.

“As I was saying, they have skipped a lot of time during which the mankind had passed through many stages of what is generally considered as progress and now they faced it all within those few months since their temple reappeared.” The tiny robot recited.

“Which means that about 99.8 percent of the population would have experienced extreme stress levels in their position, not to mention they are adults and that there are monks in that temple that are centuries old … “ The boy trailed off.

“Technically, they are all centuries old in that temple, but they haven’t aged that much.” Markov corrected. “The monks there have been trained to recognize and accept the existence of magical creatures and trained to engage in battles with them whenever necessary.”

“So you think they see you as another form of magic? But they know I made you … “ The boy trailed off. He was tired and it was time to sleep, Markov let him slowly drift into sleep and wished the boy sweet dreams while the little AI processed the information his own way.

Max was never good with poetry, nor literature. If it was a straightforward assignment to analyse a piece of text, the boy stood a chance, but with hidden messages between the verses of a poem he was just as lost as the next boy, perhaps even more.

The idea that the class would go to Liberty and hang out together to work (or at least pretend to work) on their homework was a welcome distraction that could only help him find at least a poem to analyse.

But once the subject was brought up, someone had wisely concluded that no work was going to be done if the girls and the boys aren’t separated for at least quarter of an hour to make up their mind what to chose and make a few notes on why.

“There is 89 percent chance that the first quarter of an hour shall be spent in useless dwelling about this and that crush.” Max concluded while he helplessly flipped through pages of poetry, the message was supposed to be hidden.

“Perhaps I could help you with chosing the poem for your homework.” Markov dutifully offered to his creator. “ I do have access to millions of poems. What do you need?” And the screen on Markov demonstrated the abundance by scrolling through titles really quickly.

“I have only about a hundred poems here and I can’t pick one, what would I do with a million.” Max muttered. “Perhaps you could pick one for me? We are looking for a poem with a hidden message, like it looks like it is about nature but it is actually about love.”

“Right.” The robot floated around and the screen demonstrated how many songs and poems it scanned through it’s memory. “I have narrowed down the choice to about ten thousand, would you prefer some classic, popular or … “

“Something classic, but less popular, something nobody else from the class would chose.” Max looked around and tried to sneak a peek into what his classmates were doing, but it wasn’t very useful. Finally he settled to sit by the steps that led to the cabin below deck.

“These classic poems are rather popular, it is my estimate that this particular one would be chosen by about 30 percent of the pupils.” Markov proudly recited a poem. Max was devastated, he found it in his book, it was indeed a good poem for homework, but he wanted something more original.

“I cant believe Markov found a love poem faster than me.” Alix snickered from below. “I guess I suck at that too. Just don’t tell Kim that I said that. Anyway, Max if you are not using that one, can I take it?” She climbed up a few steps and sat next to the boy.

“We are not supposed to use same poems, so it was a good idea for us all to do it together but … “ Max trailed off. He wasn’t ready to admit that he did not know how to do that and depended on someone else’s help.

“But we are still doing it on our own.” Alix smirked. “Yeah, I was kind of hoping for some helpt from all those romantic souls down there … “ She motioned towards the girls. “But they are so busy gushing about their own choices that I have no idea what to do.”

“Yeah, I guess it is the same with me.” Max adjusted his glasses and tapped his finger nervously on his tablet. He looked at Markov who was suspiciously silent. His screen flashed the text of another poem with a hidden message of love.

“Hey Markov, did you find one more poem?” Alix turned towards the tiny robot. “What is that poem? Are you sure it is about love because I don’t see it … “ She trailed off. She never saw much meaning in Marinette’s quest for Adrien really, and all their schemes but she always helped out.

“Yeah, me neither.” Max focused on the text on the screen and blinked rather confused. “These words hold a meaning but I don’t get a hidden love message.” He shrugged. Then he looked at Alix and similarly confused face. They both shrugged in unison.

“Most of the poetry was written about love and feelings.” Markov started to recite the poem.

“Can you tell us where?” Alix frowned.

“Nope, this is your homework, I picked you two poems, now you have to get it.” Markov teased and started to sing ‘Computer love’ (there are several really old ones with the same name in English, the author prefers one that is not in English).

The two teens huddled together on the same step and read a poem word for word until they started to make theories whatever they thought might be romantic hidden behind the beautiful soft meadows and strong tall cliffs.

“I can’t believe you brought this old book, it was really brave of you, I would never hope I was going to be able to find anything in it.” Alix pointed to the book that was in Max’s hands just below the tablet where he at least typed the title and the name of the author.

“Yeah, I can’t believe it either, Adrien advised me to take this, but I work much better with modern technologies.” He adjusted his glasses and intently focused on the text of the poem.

“Well I got this old thing from my father for my fifteenth birthday and I thought it was cool, it was supposed to be centuries old but what it did, it looked rather modern technology to me.” She smirked and took out her pocket watch, she already showed it to her class on her birthday.

Max looked at the pocket watch, it was a cool thing, he opened it and closed it and turned around a few times, then he recited some statistical data about pocket watches and complications that the most distinguished specimens hosted.

“Hey Alix, sorry, I promised to help … “ Marinette approached from the bottom of the steps.

“Max you mentioned you could use some help.” Adrien approached from above.

Alix closed her pocket watch and put it away in her backpack.

All three kids followed the pocket watch with their eyes exactly to the point where it got stored in the backpack. Then Both Adrien and Marinette stared at each other then they both looked at Alix.

“Um ...” Marinette began.

“Alix?” Adrien called.

“Your pocket watch?” Marinette stammered and run the tip of her shoe into the floor.

“Did it ever behave some strange way?” Adrien asked tentatively.

“It runs perfectly. It got fixed by the miraculous cure after I got akumatized.” She shrugged.

Marinette stared at Adrien, that pocket watch wasn’t the only thing that got fixed, she also brought him back, because Timebreaker made him disappear.

“Okay, I’m sure Ladybug would be glad to know that your birthday present works perfectly.” Adrien spoke but he looked at Marinette. He knew what what going on through her mind, Alix made him disappear and she watched it, but he saw her disappear thousands of times.

“Oh, I didn’t know you were so interested in it.” She was reaching for the watch in her backpack.

“Poems … “ Marinette shot back. “I mean poems we analyse to meant … I mean we are meant to analyse poems.”

“Right” Alix rolled her eyes, it was far better if she dragged that girl away and use her for a minute, if there was a hidden romantic message in this piece of text she was reading, that girl was the one who was going to find it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> phew, it's late and I probably missed some errors ... sorry


	43. Lila's Deal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lila talks with Amelie

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> warning: this chapter might make you sick

43 Lila’s deal

Lila watched, hidden behind some bushes as the rest of her class filed from the school. First it was Chloe who stormed into her limo, without Felix, and quarter of an hour later there was the rest of the group, Felix included, who wandered off in the direction of the Seine.

Therefore, Felix did not head straight back to the hotel, she waited to oh so accidentally meet him. That was just as well, perhaps even better for her plan. She was going to flip the whole class in her favour, she was going to get what she wanted one way or another, and she knew how to get there.

“Hello Mme Graham de Vanily.” Lila greeted in her usual falsely sweet tone while she smiled slyly and fluttered her eyelashes. She faced the woman determined to enter her hotel room. Amelie just returned from the fencing tournament that Lila did not bother to attend.

“Oh, hello Mlle Rossi.” Amelie used the surname intentionally. “I haven’t noticed you on the fencing tournament. The whole class was there apparently. Felix won both duels, I’m so proud.” She exclaimed. “But I’m afraid he is not here, he went to celebrate with his friends.”

“That is perfectly fine, Mme Graham de Vanily, you see, I am here to see you.” She smiled slyly again. There was something predatory in that smile and Amelie braced for impact. “I brought here the contract you offered me few days ago.”

“Oh, have your mother signed the contract?” Amelie knew for a fact that she did and she already had her copy safely stored. But she had to know what this girl wanted and why was she here, because now the contract stated that they were finished.

“Well, I came here to negotiate the terms of my contract.” The girl continued in even sweeter tone, the one that pierced eardrums because it was false. Amelie was ready to slam the door into her face, no matter how she was brought up to be elegant, gentle and understanding.

“I do not see how you wish to negotiate your contract now, the work was done, you have been paid and I have to deal with what is left of the company.” The woman struggled to remain calm and composed although she never showed an ounce of distress.

“I was thinking of a new contract, with new terms, and if it is for a new brand … “ Lila trailed off, but then she smiled widely. “Your brand.” She put her hand on Amelie’s forearm and the woman pulled away surprised.

“Weather or not it is going to be my brand is a matter of negotiations.” Amelie knew better than to continue, it was supposed to be announced by someone else, major Bourgeois had substantial impact as the city of Paris got most of the shares.

“Well, I am here to negotiate then.” Lila was not deterred and she sounded as if she was the city mayor and not a mere teenage girl with a diplomat mother. There was something sinister in her smile and Amelie did not find it pleasant at all.

“What makes you think you are in any position to negotiate anything? I would like to thank you for your services, the debt to you had been paid and if the future brand will ever need your services you shall be contacted.” Amelie offered in her straight to business tone.

“You see, I do have access to all the files on the Agreste cloud, I know what he did and why … and I know what his late wife did … for you.” She continued to speak in false sweetness but much quieter than before.

Amelie stared with her eyes open, yes that was a girl accused for collaboration with Hawk Moth, her young age supported by a diplomatic passport had freed her from a more serious punishment and of course she appeared at her door with demands. But Amelie dealt with snakes before.

Lila stepped into the hotel room like she owned the place. The living room part was full of papers just like she remembered, but this time those were different papers, Amelie was really taking over the company.

“What do you want?” Amelie asked in a gentle tone but her eyes were ready to pierce holes in the girl that stood there in the middle of the hotel room and carelessly walked around, even stepped on a few papers, possibly intentionally.

She did not ask what the girl knew, she was too scared to ask, all her fears hidden behind a confident and polite exterior that she always showed, to anyone. She definitely knew what could have been written in those notes if Gabriel was as careless as he obviously was.

“I was reading the notes and the diaries of Gabriel Agreste.” The girl stated solemnly. To Amelie, that was the first news that such things existed. She should have known. “Better known, oh no, equally known as Hawk Moth.” Lila grinned.

“Notes and diaries?” Amelie raised her eyebrows. She did not have to act that she was surprised, of course a business man was expected to have some notes related to the way he handled business but she knew that Lila was not referring to those, for sure, Amelie had those, they were boring.

“Yes, his private notes and diary about family and his private activities that we are all too familiar with.” Lila confirmed Amelie’s worst fears. “I can assure you there is all kind of evidence beside the notes and they make a really interesting reading.

“I see … “ Amelie did not show just how disturbed she felt, did she have the luxury to play dumb and pretend she did not know? That was not going to help her against this girl.

The woman gathered her composure, this girl had more information, probably knew what happened to her sister, or at least had information from which more expert eyes were going to discern what actually happened and might be able to help.

“I have noticed how much Felix looks like Adrien. Everyone did. He even fooled me on his first day of school.” She smirked. “But according to the notes from Gabriel, that is to be expected, because Felix was created on Adrien’s image, wasn’t he?” She grinned.

Amelie watched the girl and did not change expression the slightest from mild interest, her eyes nor mouth did not twitch, she was used to tough business talks and negotiations, not on everyday basis, but she had more than a few in her life, and she never lost her nerve.

It was useless to either confirm or deny the claim, she kept quiet and listened to what the girl knew, thought she knew and what she expected to get. Any reaction would only encourage further claims. Amelie steeled herself for whatever was going to come out from the girl’s mouth.

“Adrien stated it rather clearly that he never intended to model again.” Lila knew that was a lie and Amelie saw through it, the boy did not want to promote his father, but after she took over and transformed the company, the boy had time to change his mind.

In fact, Amelie understood perfectily Adrien’s reasons, she was not going to force him to be a model, it would have been useful, a boy who fought and defeated a supervillain that turned out was his father was definitely instant fame and a rebel all in one. It was bound to sell.

“However, Felix looks so much like him, he could easily take over his spot.” The girl continued to elaborate her plan. Amelie knew where this was going, and she knew that that plan was bound to fail every step of the way.

Felix loved to pretend to be Adrien on his own terms, yes he was able to do it and did it perfectly a few times, but he did it out of his own free will ad his own pace and pleasure, he was bad at assuming a pose at command, to smile at command, to pretend to like someone he did not.

“Therefore, I propose to replace Adrien with Felix as the male face of the brand and keep me as a women’s face of the brand. That would definitely help the brand keep its … “ She spoke with so much self confidence and then stopped because the woman was … laughing?

Amelie flipped from being panicked and concerned and worried and scared to a nervous, frantic, perhaps even hysterical laugh within a minute. This girl had information that could crush her and her son, but at the same time she was so stupid and naive, without the ability to see a big picture.

“Oh, dear girl.” Amelie laughed. “Felix would never accept your plan, he would simply hate it, there is no way in the world to make him model something the way Adrien did. They might look alike, but they are completely different persons.”

Actually, he would make an excellent model, if one wanted serious, distant, mocking or strict, and the boy would not accept just any clothing item thrown his way, he actually loved suits and ties so it wasn’t a big deal, but she would need someone else for the casual line.

Amelie just did not thing that having the rest of the team, like designers and stylists and make up and everyone to walk on his tiptoes and satisfy every boy’s whim just to be on his good side and maybe get a useful photo …

“And you.” The woman laughed harder. “To be a face of the brand that aims to distance itself from Gabriel Agreste and whatever he did as Hawk Moth? I haven’t heard at a more ridiculous proposal for a long time and I just spent a week with Audrey Bourgeois.”

Lila fumed, she did expect to be objected, but not laughed at, and so airily, so naturally so … not forced, not acted? She was really laughed at. At first it sounded strange but it was a laugh, and even if Amelie was only acting, Lila was still baffled by the reaction.

“I’m really sorry, Mlle Rossi.” Amelie did what she could to stop laughing so hard. “But your face screams liaison with Hawk Moth and that is exactly what we do not want to have. Yes we all believe you can grow up to be a nice person, but the face of a new brand? No!”

Lila scowled, she was ready to scream, to fume, to continue with her threat but she was cut off. She had more things to say, more intimidating and scary secrets to share.

“I think I know what my brother in law promised you, it wasn’t just money, it was Adrien, wasn’t it? And now you want Felix just because he looks like him, well Felix is not Adrien, they are hardly similar once you learn to know them and I doubt you really know any of them.” Amelie stated.

The girl got baffled, yeah she did not know Adrien, no she did not even care to know him, she cared to own him, to be seen by his side, to be in a commercial or in an add or in a photo shoot with him so she had photos that she was able to shove in Marinette’s face and be adored by Adrien’s fans.

“They are not a prize to be won, neither Adrien nor Felix. You don’t have a face that would sell much but yourself, and only temporarily. The new brand needs someone new and genuine, someone who is not there for their fifteen minutes of fame.” She explained it to the girl like a teacher.

Lila composed herself back, she did not care if this woman liked her, she did not care if she wanted her, appreciated, valued or acknowledged her idea, because she had an ace up on her sleeve that was going to make that woman accept it and play her game the way Lila wanted.

“I know why Felix is so much like Adrien.” She spoke slyly and confidently. “I know he is a sentimonster created by your sister.” She did not actually spit the words out the way she wanted, but she waited and observed the reaction, she got Amelie’s attention just like she wanted.

“And I have documents Gabriel collected that prove that.” Well, in fact those were not really documents, just some stuff he noted in his files, but Lila saw them as proof and right now, even that was sufficient for Amelie to listen very carefully.

“You are going to make Felix and me the power couple of the new company, you are going to make us the new faces of the brand, we are going to appear together on a cover of each journal and on every billboard in the city.” Her olive green eyes glowed as she elaborated her plan.

Amelie shook her head, suddenly Chloe’s proposal to be the new face of the brand seemed entirely sane and logical move, the idea of Audrey to make Marinette Dupain Cheng, a fourteen year old girl a lead designer of the new brand began to sound reasonable.

Amelie did not dismiss both ideas as crazy, just highly inconvenient, Chloe was a brat and unsuitable for a job of a model who had to obey orders from others all the time, in that sense, she would make even more trouble than Felix.

And Marinette was definitely talented designer who started to make herself known, but she was just a fourteen year old girl and despite being exactly what the brand needed, a girl who defeated Hawk Moth, she was just a girl and needed her childhood.

The plans to include both her nephew and his girlfriend in the making of the new brand were based on the fact that Amelie considered them children, too young to take on too many obligations and expected them to enjoy it as if it was some sort of a game, the way she treated Felix.

“Because, if you don’t, I will release that information to the public and then the whole world will know that your sister used a miraculous to create monsters and one of those monsters is Felix that you pretend to be your son.” Lila smiled wickedly.

Amelie negotiated many business deals, her heart never missed a beat, her breathing was never loud, heavy or erratic, but in each of those deals, she could loose only money and some other material possessions, here, this girl was threatening with Felix, her son, and her sister.

That was a low blow, so low that she never expected it, and she had Gabriel Agreste for a brother in law, she was related to Hawk Moth and she was unable to foresee this blow coming. It was so low and so strong that she felt as if the floor under her feet was slipping.

And she was alone in this, if she admitted to anyone how Lila, a teenage girl had threatened her, they would have laughed at her, and if she admitted how, then Ladybug and Chat Noir would have destroyed Felix, and she was not going to lose him too.

She was not able to call the police nor the heroes, she was not able to tell anyone of what kind of evil had pushed her against the wall. Even if she accepted to lose Felix only to get her sister back, Emilie’s name was about to be ruined.

She had to accept this deal, for now, and she had to find a way out of it. She had ways out of it, she wanted to pull out, she negotiated with Audrey and Andre Bourgeois about the terms with which the company was going to do business, and now she had this …

“Don’t think you can just pull out your investment and push the company into bankruptcy, I will also release the information if you do that.” She continued. “And I know that sentimonsters can be controlled so I trust you will control Felix and make him be just the way I want him.”

Amelie stared at the girl. She always believed there was some good in people, she believed that Gabriel Agreste had good sides, she had to for her sister, she accepted his flaws and the man as a member of her family, but she was not sure what this girl was.

“I don’t know what happened to you in your life to treat other people this way but you really need help and what you’re getting might be insufficient.” Amelie spoke calmly and quietly, she held her hands in front of her and she wasn’t shaking.

“The new brand is only being negotiated and I am not the only factor that decides about it, but you can count on me to carry your proposal once the situation calls for it. It is too early right now to set up such an agreement, I hope you can exercise patience and wait a little.” The woman waited.

“I will wait, but if this is some scheme to trick me, be aware of the information I have.” Lila narrowed her eyes. “And I expect you to support me socializing with Felix on any occasion I see fit in the meantime.”

“Of course.” Amelie smirked. Felix was well known for being an obnoxious prankster and she intended to let him have his way if this girl insisted on having him.

Lila had one more ace up her sleeve. She knew that a wedding ring was used to store the amok. She also looked and Amelie’s hands and did not see any. But she remembered rather clearly that Gabriel had a wedding ring on his pictures.

She assembled a mail and send it, she promised help for Gabriel if he sent her the ring.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lila knows because she learned in the first part, she tried to threaten Felix, but did not complete her threat because this way it was far more efficient. And yes, this time she threatened an adult.


	44. Hosting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The events on Liberty as they unfolded for everyone else.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And yes, a few chapters could have been shuffled around or totally reorganized ...  
> back to some fun for these kids

Hosting

The class plus Kagami went more or less straight towards Liberty after the fencing tournament. Of course, they made a few stops for food and beverages and perhaps goofed around a bit, made a selfie or two, avoided a few fans that they met. The weather was finally clearing.

“Welcome to Liberty!” Anarka’s voice would have echoed over the river if there was no city noise in the background. Luka smirked at his mother’s antics. She practically threw herself on Adrien and Marinette. “Our heroes!” She grinned widely as she pulled them both in a hug.

“Thank you Mme Couffaine.” Adrien beamed.

“Thank you Anarka.” Marinette nudged him with her elbow, she knew the procedure.

“Call me Anarka, please! You can call me the captain if you want but no Mme for me.” She winked. Her hair was tied with a colourful scarf and she indeed looked like a pirate on that boat in the seine, littered with instruments, wooden boxes used for sitting and other stuff.

“Thank you captain Anarka.” Adrien had that crooked grin while he looked at the woman and then at the shy girl by his side. They were bot arrested in the woman’s arms while she held them in heartfelt but also crushing hug.

“Dear boy, you are always welcome here, any time and for whatever you need. Feel free to make yourself at home here.” She declared. “And if you need to hide away and protect yourself from all those fans, come here, Anarka knows what to do with those.”

The rest of the class scaled the board and boarded the boat while the woman was busy fussing over Adrien for his awful father and poor mother and whatnot. Marinette was not let go, so both of them were rather busy, if not literally taken.

Alya was making a video of the whole show and her laughs and cries probably encouraged Anarka to continue, while Luka and Juleka looked slightly embarrassed by their extrovert mother, they both supported her claims when called for.

“Come on!” Kagami stepped on the board before Felix and walked with confidence over the board then finally determinedly jumped to the deck. Her hair flew around her face before it settled to frame her, it glowed in the sun and the girl turned back to the boy and smiled.

Luka was by her side and greeted her warmly, like an old friend, and Kagami actually smiled back, openly, and that was what made Felix frown. Apparently those two knew each other rather well if Kagami was able to open up so much (well so uncharacteristically).

Felix realized his error when he stepped on the board, he was not scared or anything, he was just taken by surprise, so much so that he forgot to take the first step and offer his hand to the girl on her way down to the deck, not to let her go first, that was the gentlemanly way to do.

The ship moved slightly and the board beneath him moved unexpectedly but the boy kept balance easily and landed on the deck with elegance. Kagami watched him with admiration, although her face did not show much of the expression. She looked cold while she looked at him.

Felix intended to change that, why was Adrien able to make Marinette to blush in mere seconds and nobody was doing that for Felix, he wanted someone whom he would be able to turn red in an instant and Chloe was a wrong choice, but with Kagami, he was willing to try.

Juleka advised Felix not to wear his usual boarding school clothes to the boat if he was able to help himself, but he wasn’t, he was inclined to disobey and wanted to be different than Adrien if he was able to help it, he wanted to be himself, so he boarded liberty in shirt, vest and a tie.

Of course, Anarka allowed complete liberty in the choice of clothing on Liberty so suit and tie was not actually forbidden (well she would have allowed even more liberty than was legally possible but officer Roger Raincomprix was never too far from the boat so some decency was implied).

“My, oh, my! What do we have here?” Anarka let go of Adrien and Marinette and walked over to the boy. “What are you? A bank manager? A lawyer? A parliament representative? A naval inspector? Because all my accounts and licences are valid!”

Felix took pride in his appearance and stood tall, there was no way for him to give in to this kind of provocation and even attempt to defend himself or his choice of clothing. But then he had an idea, of course he had. He stood straight and tall and even more stiff than usual.

“Actually, the City Hall administrative staff just realized you never submitted permit OX-04 as stipulated in the circular Y-42 issued by office Z-20, Monday to Friday from nine to nine thirty, which means you don't have a permit to anchor by the embankment in any arrondissement in Paris.” He spoke quickly with as much of authority as the boy could muster.

Anarka looked at the boy, her eyes were glowing, she almost snorted at his antics, the keyword almost, she managed to restrain herself. Her eyes never left Felix’s and it was obvious she was having fun, to anyone but Felix, all he saw was a woman with fire in her eyes.

“Well then, pull in the board, pull up the anchor, raise the mainsail me deck hands let's get swashbuckling around here.” She ordered. Juleka’s eyes went wide for a moment, she got scared that her mother got akumatized again, but then she recognized the joke.

The board was pulled, the ropes and the anchor raised and Luka was trying to raise the sail, Adrien stepped in to try and help before the rest of the boys joined in. Felix looked around at what was going on slightly baffled, the deck underneath was moving lightly.

“Steer this ship towards the middle of the river, let us not be tied to anything, this is Liberty!” Anarka exclaimed and watched Felix’s reaction. She saw how the boy frantically searched around for something, anything as his classmates obviously had fun, but then he turned his attention back.

“Are you in possession of permit OX-24 not older than three months issued at the third floor of the naval office according to the item YO-4, article 6 of the code of conduct Z4? Otherwise you are not allowed to navigate the changing waters of the Seine on Saturdays.” The boy shot back while barely able to hid an amused smile.

Juleka and Rose steered the boat in rather boat free area while the boys actually managed to raise one sail, at least sufficiently for decorative purposes. Kagami looked at the exchange while her lips twitched into an amused smile.

“Lo and behold, I am not in possession of permit OX-24 not older than three months issued at the third floor of the naval office according to the item YO-4, article 6 of the code of conduct Z4! This is Liberty and we are sailing untied by administration!” Anarka exclaimed.

Well, that was another challenge. Anarka was about to burst into laughter, she barely contained it in her, but her stance, with her hands that gripped her hips while her face was stiffened by her attempts not to laugh actually looked rather angry.

“In that case, I have no choice but to issue you a fine of violating the item X-22 of Article Y-17 code Z-48. You are required to …” Felix recited further. Kagami was unable to hold the laugher any more and she giggled and hid behind her hand. Everyone around them was gasping for air.

Anarka finally burst out laughing so hard that officer Raincomprix might be tempted to measure that volume. The rest of the group joined in, even Kagami was laughing much louder now. The bubble was burst, there was no going back to pretend they were serious.

Felix was confused, he was supposed to be the one who laughed first after he revealed the joke not the other way around. At least he thought so. He pouted for a moment before he schooled himself in a stern expression that was to show he wasn’t amused at all.

“Come on, you won!” Anarka nudged the boy with a gentle punch of her fist into his shoulder. The boy looked at his shoulder and pretended to remove some invisible dust. The woman laughed even harder at that and finally his lips disobeyed and twitched a little.

“This is my cousin Felix” Adrien stepped in to do the introductions. He was concerned about that day and what his cousin was a bout to pull, his last prank was not forgotten yet.

“And this is Juleka’s mother, Anarka Couffaine!” Adrien continued with the introductions and stepped in between the two. He watched his cousin with a warning in his eyes.

“And I am Juleka’s brother, Luka.” The boy offered his had for Felix to shake. The blonde boy in a vest and tie observed the other boy carefully, he should have expected that anyone who was Juleka’s brother was supposed to look exactly like this, for him it was such a cliché.

But Felix relented and offered a handshake, he was raised better than that. And he did not take any rings this time, he scoffed (internally) at their design. This was a boy whom Kagami greeted so warmly (and vice versa) and Felix chose not to like him at all.

Anarka finally ordered for the boat to be anchored so that the kids could go about their intended business, which was, according to her, to play music as loud as allowed (and perhaos a few decibels more just to annoy officer Raincomprix because that was Liberty).

“We are actually here to do some homework.” Juleka muttered quietly to her mother. They both knew it was an excuse to be allowed to spend a day hanging out with friends, it worked just as well for the boat’s captain.

“Yeah, we need to analyse a love poem, each.” Rose piped in excitedly and showed all the enthusiasm that she had for the subject, several people from the class hoped that rose picked up a few extra poems for them to use in their homework.

“So we were thinking, the girls could go downstairs in the cabin while you boys can stay over here on the deck.” Alya proposed. She nudger Marinette in the process and the said girl blushed right on schedule, of course her best friend used her hand her boyfriend as an excuse.

“Why can’t we all stay here?” Mylenne demanded and wrapped her hands around Ivan’s arm. The boy looked at his girlfriend as if he already suffered from separation anxiety, but only for a moment before a glare from Alya made them separate.

“Does anyone have any ideas to share?” Alix asked, a tablet already in her hands, she was ready to start wherever and whenever anyone would just drop the ball in her courtyard, ahem actually chose a poem for her.

“Hey Kagami, why don’t we let these guys deal with their homework, I have this new tune I’d like to play for you.” Luka proposed to the girl.

Kagami smiled and nodded while Felix glared at the older boy, but Luka ignored him completely.

“Actually, I was kind of hoping to get some help from Kagami.” Felix countered.

“What help?” Kagami asked politely.

“Well if I am to analyse a love poem … “ He trailed off, if he admitted that he hoped to have her by his side when he analysed a love poem then he would admit to much more than he was ready, and even before the crowd of his whole class.

That was far more than he intended to admit and judging from their faces, some of them already guessed or according to him dared to assume that the boy had feelings for his fencing partner (which was a bold assumption, he wasn’t into that).

“Actually, I was hoping to get some help from Kagami too.” Kim, of all people cut in. There were gasps of surprise and horror. Everyone looked at the large boy while he took a step closer to Kagami and smiled. Max nudged the boy with a warning look in his eyes. Kim nodded back.

“I’m sorry to trouble you with this … “ Kim spoke something he obviously practised, turned towards Max, received a nod to continue, then he turned back. “I’m just a bit … well … please don’t take this the wrong way … “ Kim glanced towards Max again and he nodded.

Kagami had her usual serious face as she paid undivided attention towards the huge boy and waited patiently for him to pronounce whatever he wanted from her. For such a huge sporty boy, he as sure hesitated too much for her taste.

“Please, do you know any love haiku I could analyse? I’m bad in literature as it is and I’d really prefer not to do anything longer.” Kim smiled, his hands joined almost as if he was begging, he was sincere, and lazy, he checked with Max who only shrugged.

“How dare you?” Felix snarled and surprised Kagami, well he surprised everyone by reacting at all, but she was the closest to him and she actually twitched at his raised voice. Felix looked livid and ready to jump on the much larger opponent, but Kagami took his hand.

“It is okay.” Kagami replied calmly to Felix first and then turned towards Kim. “I could help you with that, but you would have to find a proper translation. Most of haiku is about nature, but there is love hidden between those lines.”

Felix glared at the boy and took deep breaths, it was unlike him to react that way. Because his huge classmate asked his girlfriend to help him with love haiku, of all things, just because she was Japanese! Stop! Rewind! His what? No no no, his friend, Kagami was his friend.

Kagami needed a minute to find an example and even one translation and let Kim deal with the rest while she never let go of Felix’s hand. The boy stared at their hands, she gave him a ride, they had ice cream, they held hands, were they dating? And why didn’t he notice that before?

The blonde boy stood there and observed Kagami with new eyes, he watched her while she searched her phone, he observed while she showed the author and the title to Kim, and then he lowered his eyes and noticed their holding hands, he stared at those hands surprised.

When did this happen? He was not some pathetic teenager who dreamed about love day and night, first love, second love, a kiss in the moonlight or a janitor’s closet, holding hands while walking into school together, or on a friend’s boat, she smelled nice, he noticed, what was going on?

However, the haiku was found, the girls descended in the cabin below deck, the boys already settled onto the deck and got deep into whatever they were searching, Kim gratefully thanked Kagami for his help and Luka was there to take Kagami away.

“Did you want me to find another haiku for you?” Kagami offered because the boy was not letting go of her hand. It was a kind, polite and sincere offer, she was ready to make friends and she had Marinette as an example, always ready to help others, well almost anyone.

“No, I would do nothing less than a Shakespeare sonnet.” Felix replied proudly. He produced a book from his bag, it was a small book meant to be carried around (and probably read to significant others in romantic settings), it belonged to his mother.

“Well, I will leave you to your bard. This shouldn’t take too long and allow you to do your homework.” Kagami made a firm nod and retrieved her hand. Then she turned towards Luka and they went together to the bow of the boat while the rest of the group remained at the stern.

Felix observed the boys, apparently they were actually working on their homework, wrote down the verses and few of them even began to analyse.

Adrien had that stupid lovesick expression on his face, he was probably thinking of Marinette, as if she was not just a few meters away and they just separated a minute ago.

Ivan was deep into a poem that probably him and Mylenne decided on together, or maybe it was a surprise for the girl.

Nino had his headphones on, his head moved in the rhythm of the music while he scribbled down something in the notebook.

Unsurprisingly, Nathaniel was drawing, he clearly did not intend to do any analysis of any love poem here on the boat. The boy probably did it already during his session with Marc in the library or some other similar occasion.

Max discussed something with Markov. The boy and the robot were suspiciously close to the stairs that lead to the living room part of the cabins. Felix suspected that Max maybe eavesdropped on the girls, but the conversation between them had too many percentages for that.

Felix looked at his empty paper from the notebook and his copy of the sonnets. He really intended to do this while on the boat, but apparently he was missing the essential ingredient, and that ingredient was a girl that currently sat at the bow of this ship and listened to some other guy playing a guitar.

With determination, Felix got to his feet and decided to walk over there. He opened his small book ( to a page marked generations ago. Luka had just finished playing the melody and Felix stepped in and read the lines without any introduction.

“Wow” Luka said with admiration once Felix finished. “You really read it nicely, one can hear you heart and soul in it.” Felix stared at Kagami at first but his eyes flicked towards Luka while the boy was speaking and he saw the fire in the boy’s eyes and the honest admiration on his face.

“Thank you Felix, that was a nice poem.” Kagami replied politely. She smiled, well the corners of her lips twitched upwards, and was that a blush? Unaware of his own pink cheeks, Felix was satisfied, he was able to finish his homework now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> have fun


	45. Where'd heroes go?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alya and her concerns that lead to a slight confrontation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Phew, finally out

Alya knew there was something going on and nobody was telling her and she was not fine with that. Her urge to trash Lila after she learned how she got cheated into publishing lies on her blog was smashed by the appearance of that teaching assistant.

She would have told that little liar just where she could go telling all her stories, and she knew that much of the class would have supported her, she was angry, she was mad and she was grounded for a week. It would have been longer, but her parents let he have one day.

Since she had plenty of time and photos and other material to edit online, especially to fix so she persuaded her parents to be allowed to work on her blog an hour a day, and that hour was easily stretched to two with a few tricks that she practised long ago.

In school she felt estranged, Adrien and Marinette were like two fingers, all the time together and constantly preoccupied with something that was apparently a secret from the rest of the world and their best friends. She only caught glimpses of what they were reading.

It was irritating really, she was so invested in getting those two together (and she had fun orchestrating all those different schemes and pushing those two together and removing any obstacle that she saw between them) and now she was annoyed how close they were.

Yeah, she had her fun in the beginning, her parents allowed her to meet her friends when they arrived from China and she even joined in for the interview, but then her parents put their hand down on her punishment and it was straight home from school.

So, there was no trashing Lila, no hanging out with the girls, no going out on dates with Nino and rather limited computer time where she basically did the necessary maintenance of her blog and dropped another small piece that described the China adventure.

Sleepover was out of the question, her parents made that clear, so there was plenty of time to sleep actually, or lay in bed and toss around and think about everything that went on. And to write that town with a pen on paper because her computer time was gone.

Nino told her to be cool about it. It was easy for him to say that. There were no akuma to chase around, but she actually got used to that already, then there were no akuma to report on from China, but there was plenty of stuff to write on Hawk Moth reveal on daily basis.

Alya was restless, she needed action, and writing about the good old days and akuma fights as well as fixing up already published information was only going so far. And the action provided by Ella and Etta was not what Alya had in mind, oh no, quite the contrary.

Nino told her it was okay for Adrien and Marinette to have their little cocoon, they needed that to protect themselves from the world, from everything that happened and from the implications of the situation Adrien found himself in. Her boyfriend was so cool about that.

Of course the model boy was distressed, his father was a villain, and although it illustrated rather vividly how much everything in Adrien’s life was wrong, Alya wanted to be a part of it, to know what was going on, to know the details, first hand.

But it looked like the main actors were rather not interested in what was going on, because while Felix and Chloe arguer about the future of Gabriel Agreste, his mansion and his fashion industry, the other two teenagers were busy with problems of their own distant world.

Amelie was there to take over Gabriel’s assets and she understood from the banter between Chloe and Felix that Andre and Audrey Bourgeois had their fingers in that too. Alya wanted to know what was going on. Nino told her that Adrien preferred not to be involved.

Well, Nino used rather different vocabulary, those were actually Adrien’s words when she confronted him. And he chose his words even less when he explained the absence of interest in the destiny of his father, the boy simply enjoyed his new freedom.

Finally, and most frustratingly of all, she wasn’t able to follow Ladybug any more, there were no more akuma fights and the two heroes were seldom seen over the city. And Alya slowly began to understand that her days as Rena Rouge were probably numbered.

Again, Nino told her that was cool, that Hawk Moth was defeated, that Ladybug and Chat Noir deserved a break from everything they’ve done, that Rena Rouge and Carapace deserved a break, that the only thing he wanted to do was to throw a party.

He also wanted to throw a party for Adrien, in his old room in the Agreste mansion, if possible, although, chances were that was becoming Graham de Vanily mansion any of these days. Well, Felix was their classmate, it wasn’t impossible to still have a party there.

She regularly used her computer time (and the time meant to do research for homework, but who checked) to follow any news on Gabriel Agreste and Nathalie Sancoeur as well as on the police investigation that was going on.

She wasn’t the only journalist with nothing to report on since the akuma attacks have stopped, and apparently her older colleagues were not grounded by their parents and had plenty of time to invent theories that could have been supported by any evidence, real or imagined.

“I can’t imagine that people get paid to write this rubbish.” She sighed and bottled her anger so that nobody in her home noticed she was reading news instead of looking for a poem for her homework. Besides, she was not supposed to find anything and have an excuse to go to the boat tomorrow.

Several theories were able to stand up to the test of an inexperienced and slightly naive young journalist who also happened to wield a miraculous, at least temporarily. It was clear that the man wanted to bring back his wife using the ladybug and black cat miraculous, but not exactly how.

And then there were theories on how Emilie, Adrien’s mother, actually died, or fell into a coma, because there were theories on her status too, several journalists entertained the idea that the woman simply left to live somewhere in peace.

But those that spooked Alya the most were all those that implied that Emilie used to wield a miraculous too, just like Gabriel. They speculated which one it was, if she wielded peacock, or butterfly miraculous, or perhaps even both of them.

And then there were interviews with former house servants, secretaries and anyone who was able to claim that they ever stepped into the Agreste mansion. Plenty of them had a story to tell about Gabriel and Emilie, because that was what sold the news.

Nino was far more chill about the whole thing, he spent his afternoons and evenings with Adrien, at least a few hours per day, they did homework together, Adrien apparently wanted to learn and do regular house chores (to Nino’s dismay and Chris’ disappointment).

They were used to the media attention, but Adrien was not haunted by fans like after that perfume add, or any other commercial campaign, or for Valentine’s day, this time the fans chose to show some respect, it was the professionals who wanted a story that were after him, but he was a minor.

There was a phenomenon, Gabriel ads in principle involved Adrien, and the billboards were destroyed in a way that anyone spray painted a message over the add part just to praise the boy who defeated the villain. It was fun in a way and Alya was sure that Alix had her fingers in that.

It was fun to watch the fencing tournament, finally allowed to go to something besides classes, and it was fantastic to go to Liberty even if the excuse was to help out with the poetry homework, but she had a precise hour when she had to return home and that sort of hang above her head all day.

“Do you think we will see Ladybug and Chat Noir around Paris any more?” Rose piped in after they were finished with the homework. That made everyone stop and think. “Because Hawk Moth and Mayura are defeated do they … are they going to continue?”

Well that sort of hang above her head all day too, but not just today, for days really, weeks perhaps, maybe ever since Miracle Queen revealed her identity to Hawk Moth, emphasised by the fact that the battles moved to Tibet temporarily and then the villain was gone.

“They did many good deeds and solved problems that were not caused by magic.” Mylenne reminded everyone of several occasions when the help of Ladybug and Chat Noir prevented a disaster or saved lives even though the trouble was rather plain.

“Well, they will not need temporary wielders any more, that’s for sure.” Juleka muttered.

“Don’t be so certain.” Alya cut in. But her protest arrived on the deaf ears. “I will try to get their interview, if only my parents have not grounded me I would have done that already.” She stated proudly. “In fact, that is one of the questions I intend to ask them.”

Marinette smirked to that, of course that was one of the questions. She pretended to be focused on her homework that was finished (or as finished as she had the energy to do it), she glanced towards Alix who was also quiet, she was about to reach for her watch when another voice interrupted them.

“Hey girls, come on up, we’re finished.” Nino peeked inside and called them back onto the deck. Of course the boys were finished long ago, but somehow nobody notified the girls about that, and they chatted about this and that, games or sport or favourite TV shows.

“We were just discussing how we seldom see Ladybug and Chat Noir and they might retire and there is not need for the temporary heroes any more.” Mylenne summarized to Ivan as the girls went back to the deck and joined the boys.

Max exchanged a look with Markov and smirked, then he adjusted his glasses and remained quiet, he was not giving out any percentages or chances, he knew the information with certainty and there was no way he was going to give himself up again, not willingly.

“And I plan to do and interview with Ladybug and Chat Noir, at least after my parents decide to allow me to do that.” It was a relief for Alya that the heroes did not agree to a single interview, save that impromptu, unplanned and unannounced appearance alongside Adrien and Marinette.

“I was kind of hoping they were going to have a big public reveal, I’d really like to know who those two guys are.” Kim noted and rubbed the back of his head. “I mean, I like to celebrate with our civilian heroes over here, you guys are really cool, but … you know.”

Everyone nodded so Adrien and Marinette nodded too, but they looked at each other with strange expressions on their faces.

“I’m just glad those two dudes got to rest a bit. Imagine being out for each akuma battle, day and night, along your normal life. That must have been hard.” Nino cut in.

“Are you talking about Ladybug and Chat Noir?” Luka asked when he joined with Kagami and Felix. “I think those two are really busy and that is why we did not see much of them in public in the last few weeks.”

“Well, they teleported to China for each battle, dude that’s time difference and all. My friend over here still goes to sleep early each night, got used to that as a model I guess.” Nino grinned. “Can’t take the model out from the boy.” He teased.

“Can’t argue with that one.” Adrien laughed with the rest of the teens. But he wasn’t the same model boy that left for China. His hair was as styled as he cared, it grown a little it was more messy, especially while he was on a boat on the Seine in light wind.

Marinette’s eyes went wide, he behaved and looked more and more as Chat Noir, she had to warn him about that, but later, not now while everyone was watching. The boy strolled over by her side and suddenly they were both the centre of attention, it did not last long.

“I don’t know what the fuss is about.” Felix shrugged. “Those heroes were fighting he akuma, and it turned out that even my cousin and his girlfriend were able to defeat him. Really, Adrien, why did you let them snoop around the house freely for that investigation?”

“What?” Alya shrieked and launched a full on lecture on the heroes and their accomplishments. Felix listened with a smug expression. He definitely enjoyed pushing peoples buttons, especially when it drove them mad, and this Ladyblogger was an easy victim.

It was time for Alya to go home, the clouds threatened to rain again and the rest of the group dispersed quickly. This time, Felix offered for his driver to take Alya, Marinette, Adrien and Nino while he took a ride with Kagami again.

“So, your place or mine?” Kagami teased. It was related to the last time he took a ride with her to her place and then chose to walk to Le Grand Paris where he was staying and the girl decided to say it as a joke and tease him.

Felix blushed all the way to his ears. That was not what he expected to hear from seemingly cold fencer girl who was quiet and spoke in measured words always careful about appearances, She raised her eyebrows expectantly, she asked a question, she was expecting an answer.

“Um .. I … er?” The boy muttered as he looked at her. And he was supposed to give it to her, but the meaning and implications punched him straight into the gut and sucked all the oxygen from his brain and his lungs. He gasped.

She laughed, that strange and unrestrained laugh. She made him blush. He was acutely aware of the fact that his cheeks were warm and he was probably as red as a tomato. She laughed so hard that at least he did not feel obliged to produce an audible answer any more.

Kagami directed the car to go to Le Grand Paris this time and settled in her seat with an occasional snicker and a chuckle but she looked through the window, not at him. It did not help, it took him a long time to resume his normal pale colour.

“This is inappropriate.” Felix began to speak. He chose his first words carefully and watched how was Kagami going to react to that. She did not disappoint, she stopped smiling at the world as she watched through the window and looked at him as serious as usual.

Those words stroke a chord with Kagami, and it was a dissonant chord, one she felt whenever she made a mistake. It did not happen very often. Did she go too far with that joke? She thought it was funny. Perhaps she got too relaxed while on Liberty and it was too much for Felix?

“You shouldn’t be giving me a ride and escorting me home.” He continued to talk only after he saw concern in her eyes and a wish to apologize for her words, but he did not let her go that far. “As a gentleman, it is my duty to take you home and make sure you got there safely.”

Kagami raised an eyebrow in ‘are you kidding?’ kind of way. She wasn’t a damsel in distress that needed to be escorted home safely, besides, it was her car (okay her mother’s car but let’s not be petty) and her decision. But the boy continued his lecture on chivalry and being a gentleman.

The car stopped in front of Le Grand Paris, but he refused to go out and insisted on making sure, that she, a lady, got home safely first. He knew how referring to her as a lady would have been a compliment if it did not imply a need for protection irritated Kagami.

Well he was only returning the favour, she made him blush, it was his turn to do the same.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the author feels brain deprived


	46. Something Missing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a day of rest (from magical issues), the heroes feel like they missed something, some important piece of information.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ehm, long long long break but it is finally going out. The unpublished part is being written again from scratch.

46 Something missing

Adrien’s bodyguard did not mind one bit to make a stop at the bakery. Adrien, Nino and Marinette and the man were treated to whatever treats were available from the bakery for that day and accepted them with loud enthusiasm.

It was late in the evening, after dinner, after several phone calls to Nino’s parents when, reluctantly, Adrien, his bodyguard and Nino said their goodbyes and left. They were all like family, after everything they’ve been through.

Marinette took a few breaths to calm down when she was finally alone in her room. Adrien wasn’t coming over tonight, they were going to catch up on some sleep and read a few chapters of diaries, if they find the energy.

But the tiredness and a slight melancholy caught up with her and Marinette felt the tears blur her vision, fill her eyes and stream down her face. She wiped her face quickly and took out a diary to read and try to decipher if Therese actually ever met a miraculous user.

“What are you doing Marinette?” Tikki chirped and quickly returned to her macaron, she was finally free to float around and speak to her chosen. “You are tired and need your rest.” She added. “Isn’t that what you agreed with Adrien for the weekend?”

“But there is so much stuff … are Duusu and Nooroo okay? Or should I help them more? Should I give the miraculous to Alix? The one she has now is the broken one she got from future Bunnix. And what should I do about Felix?” Marinette clenched her fists in frustration.

“You will get to it, one problem at a time.” Tikki chirped reassuringly and returned to her macaron. But Marinette crossed her arms and paced a few steps back and forth in front of her desk while she wiped the tired ears off from her face.

“At least when Hawk Moth was around I knew what to do, fight the akuma, now this is …. well at least I can cry my eyes out without getting akumatized. And I am still Ladybug, I should be … helping the authorities with the investigation and learn what happened with Adrien’s mother.” She quickly opened another file on her tablet and sat down.

“I know I missed something important, I just know I did … “ She muttered while she skipped page after page too quickly to actually read it carefully. Tikki simply shook her head and returned to her macaron, her chosen was going to have some rest, she was determined.

“Are you sure you are looking at the right place, Marinette?” Tikki asked, then she took one more bite of the macaron and floated up in the air, she slowly approached the girl and hovered above the tablet, her blue eyes focused on her chosen not on the pages of the book.

“Tikki, you are not supposed to peek into this!” Marinette scolded. “This could have been the Book of Lore and the kwami are not supposed to know what is written inside. It is only my luck I was actually going through the diary this time.”

“How are you supposed to find anything you missed if you go through it so quickly?” Tikki asked and looked at her chosen carefully. Marinette deflated, it was true, but she had to find, there had to be something in there, because she had that nagging feeling she forgot something.

Nino patiently waited while Adrien and his former bodyguard exchanged a hug and their silent greeting. The bodyguard gave Nino a quick hug too and patted him over his red hat before he finally turned away, his eyes wet, and went into the silver car.

Nino stiffened when the large man touched his red hat, but the man was so big that the boy decided to tolerate that, his red hat barely moved on his head, it was not that bad that this man, Adrien’s bodyguard, the only adult from the household who remained around, touched it, right?

“Come on, let’s get inside.” Adrien muttered while both boys waved to the bodyguard, who had to start going but was not able to do so and waited for the boys to enter the building. Finally, Nino and Adrien turned around and the man drove away.

The two boys ascended the stairs in silence, maybe they got caught up in fatigue after a busy day (not to mention a week or a month) or maybe they were a bit overwhelmed with feelings after they spent their evening in the bakery.

“Nino! Adrien! You have been away all day. I was so bored. Maman did not let me play games by myself. I even had to tidy my room. It was awful. She is so cruel. But now I had it enough. Game night!” Chris exclaimed, full of energy as he showed a remote into Adrien’s hands.

The two older boys exchanged an apologetic look, as if both of them were guilty for something, Adrien shrugged and sat down on the sofa to play the game, he shook his head and tried to concentrate while Nino went to the kitchen for juice and snacks.

Nino took his time in the kitchen, he always treated his best bro like he was just another normal boy, even though he was a famous model and a son of a fashion mogul, even though he fought his own father, who was revealed to be a supervillain.

Perhaps Adrien needed some special treatment, maybe he needed someone to talk to, maybe Nino should be the one to approach, to ask questions, to express his compassion, but he did not know how, that was something that Alya did.

And Alya was grounded, no phone, no meet ups (unless for homework or school projects) and very limited computer time, so Nino removed his red hat, scratched his head, returned his red hat and concluded that the game night it was, unless Adrien started to talk.

Chris was not a patient boy, and it somehow took longer than usual, or longer than he expected to load the game, and he insisted on which game to play and he insisted on where to sit and he insisted to be the first one who will chose the character.

Adrien was not bothered, while he held the controller he only remembered how he used to play against Marinette and how good she was, she did not stammer nor trip while she played, oh no, she wiped the floor with him.

Of course she did, she was his lady, she was amazing in anything she tried, a smile sneaked up on his face while his eyes were unfocused and lost, yeah sometimes she needed reassurance and he was ready to remind her how amazing she was.

He missed her physical presence by his side, they dealt with everything together, and now he was playing a game and it wasn’t with Marinette, his lady, he was constantly reminded by his brain, nor against her, she wasn’t even present to watch from the side.

He looked at the controller. Maybe he should have showed the controller to the side and go and study the Book of Lore or his mother’s diary, because that was what Marinette was doing, he was certain of that.

Then his eyes searched all around the room as if he was looking for a way out, for an excuse to disappear into his room, transform and vault away all the was to her balcony, because he missed her so much … no, he wasn’t that selfish, to help her with the guardian duty, of course.

Then he blushed because he remembered how they became guardians, it was like all his dreams came true, she was his, his lady was his, yes they were just kids, but he did not know how to be more than a kid, and a superhero.

Nope, he wasn’t going to escape this evening, they made a deal to skip all but what was absolutely needed for the guardian duty, and that wasn’t much, really, they both deserved some rest, some time off some …

“Game time!” Chris exclaimed as it finally loaded on the screen. Yeah, they earned some time off, and they spent the whole day together having some time off, at least off the magic of the miraculous and the miracle box.

It was time to chose his player and start to fight, he had to set aside his worries, he was just going to play this game and forget about anything else, this was his family now, technically, Chris had become his little brother.

Adrien held the controller and absorbed himself in the game, he fought, he fought hard, he hit the buttons and became unaware of his surroundings, the only thing that existed for him was the game on the screen, and then he won.

“Aaaaargh!” Chris screamed and smashed the controller into sofa in anger. The plastic device was rather sturdy and simply bounced away while the kid screamed in anger and frustration because he lost the game.

“Dude, you should have lost, you just loose a few rounds and then Chris goes to bed, now we are never going to get rid of him.” Nino whispered softly although the frustration was visible on his face.

“Sorry, Nino.” Adrien mouthed and concentrated. Okay, so he was to play and to lose, he was able to do that, right? But he did not mind playing with Chris a little more, it wasn’t that bad, he never had a little brother before, only Felix, and he did not find playing with Chris that annoying.

It was late, really late when Chris finally fell asleep, game controller firmly clutched in his hands. Nino simply covered to boy with blanket and switched the game off, none of them had any will to continue playing.

“I miss my maman.” Adrien stated simply. They were both in his room and listened to a playlist Nino assembled during the school holidays, while Adrien was in China with Marinette, they talked about nothing in particular when Adrien finally admitted that.

“Um, yeah, sorry man, it must be bad … “ Nino adjusted his red hat unsure what to tell. He really wanted to be of some help to his friend, he wanted to be a friend and to listen, but he had no idea what to say.

“I mean … I know she’s been … gone … like for years now but … but now I know what happened and where she is … and I miss her … and … “ Adrien trailed off, he pronounced a few incoherent and unconnected words.

“I get it, you dealt with it once and now you have to do it all over again.” Nino shrugged and smiled apologetically as he wasn’t sure if he reached the right conclusion, he just wanted to say something, reassuring, to get Adrien to speak some more.

“Um she, you know, is in that magic coma, in the temple, the monks there know about the miraculous, they might help her but … I don’t know if I should hope, I don’t know what I should want.” And then Adrien fell silent.

“That sucks man.” Nino blurted out after a long period of awkward silence. What was one supposed to say to a boy whose father became a supervillain and terrorized population of the city of Paris and sometimes the whole world only to save his mother.

“My father wanted her back, I know he did, and look at where it got him, so maybe I shouldn’t … you know … hope?” Adrien looked at Nino and the two boys stared at each other. “And then I know my aunt hopes too.”

“Um yeah, your aunt … “ Nino had a task, he got it from the rest of the boys, to ask Adrien if they could organize a party in his old room in the Agreste mansion, the last time they had a party there was rather unforgettable and they wanted to do it again, this time without an akuma.

“Yes she … well, please don’t tell this to Alya, this is not for her blog but … Ladybug took aunt Amelie and me to see her, my maman, back to that temple in Tibet. She … they … used that teleportation miraculous and took us there.” Adrien was looking through the window.

“Oh, when?” Nino was suddenly wide awake. This was new, this was an interesting turn of events, it involved the heroes, it possibly involved a temporary miraculous holder that teleported them to the temple.

“Last night actually.” Adrien smiled when he saw how alive Nino had become.

“So Ladybug came here to pick you up? From this window?” Nino was becoming more and more excited as he pointed towards the window. “Or was it that other hero who was doing the teleportation? Peagasus?”

“Um, I left with … Chat Noir actually.” Adrien smiled sheepishly, that was the closest thing to the truth. “And Ladybug brought aunt Amelie and Peagasus arrived and made a portal and we went through and got really close to the temple.”

Then Adrien described how his aunt spoke to the body of his mother, how he met the monks, and how his mother got ill because she was using a broken miraculous and that maybe it was possible to cure her and that Ladybug and Chat Noir were looking for a way.

“Dude, I can’t tell you how I feel about this, Ladybug and Chat Noir are trying to bring your maman back to life after Hawk Moth terrorized the city and chased after them in order to do the same.” Nino rubbed the back of his head and adjusted his hat,

“Yeah.” There wasn’t much more Adrien dared to tell his friend, besides to admit that yes, he was Chat Noir and he was doing it to bring back his own maman, and Marinette was helping him, who was Ladybug, who was also his girlfriend.

“They’re heroes, dude.” Nino bumped his fist into Adrien’s shoulders. “They fought all those akuma, even me … “ He trailed off, Nino was really close to admit that he was Carapace, but maybe it was too early for that.

“Yeah, sorry dude.” Adrien shrugged. It was partially because he was Chat Noir and fought him, and because it was his birthday, but mostly because Nino was akumatized by his father because he was upset, because of his father.

“No need, not your fault … sorry dude, I know he’s your dad but he sucks, dude.” Nino always had a way with words. That was Alya’s territory, he simply did not do words, okay? But his friends knew what he wanted to say, somehow, and that was all that mattered.

“Yeah, he does.” Adrien nodded. “They … the monks in the temple, they somehow removed his memory … that he ever wielded a miraculous.” Then he stopped talking.

“You mean … your old man doesn’t know he was Hawk Moth? He doesn’t know what he did?” Nino was astonished. “That’s … I don’t know what that is but it doesn’t seem right.”

“The monks … they wanted to remove his knowledge of the miraculous that is why they did it, but they removed the memories with it. I don’t know how that works.” Adrien shrugged. He really did not know.

“But he also … he cant feel guilty … nor sorry about what he did.” Nino protested. “There is no way for him to ever apologize, sincerely … “ Then the boy trailed off, there was not much sincere about that man that he wanted to know about anyway.

“My legal representative told me he also forgot about me and maman, but he got his documents back so now he knows about maman and me and that he was Hawk Moth.” Adrien continued, that was something he also did not want to deal with too much.

“He forgot about you? He forgot that he had a son? And your maman? His wife? What else?” Nino stood up, he wasn’t able to sit down any more. This felt like something huge. “I just thought that your old man and his assistant are now in prison in China and that’s it.”

“It’s not … but I don’t want to know.” Adrien was hurting just for thinking about it and now he was even talking about it, because talking about it was supposed to make him feel better, it didn’t make him feel any better.

“Yeah, dude, let’s … if you don’t want to talk about it … let’s talk about this playlist dude! Isn’t it awesome?” Nino was happy to oblige and change the subject. If his best bro ever wanted to talk some more, he was ready to listen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to everyone who returned to this fic!


	47. What's the time?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette is restless and decided that it was time to start training the time travelling hero.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we go, into the rabbit hole

47 What’s the time?

“What’s the time?” Max asked Markov. The boy sat in front of his computer and studied. The tiny robot was busy doing his own computations. Max was … staring at some formulas on his screen but his mind was elsewhere.

He was asked to teleport Ladybug and Chat Noir twice in one night and then Ladybug, Adrien and his aunt on another. There were no akuma, but he was still needed as a temporary hero. There were mysteries to explore and there was Adrien’s mother to cure.

There was plenty of work for a superhero although the supervillains were already taken to custody and the jewels that gave them powers safely stored.

And the boy really wanted for his classmate to get his mother back, especially now that his father was taken into custody because he was a supervillain, so Max tried and failed to find any information on the internet.

“It is time when your maman usually asks you to come for dinner.” Markov replied calmly and resumed his computations. The tiny computer was rather busy. Because Max did not forget to enable the power of curiosity in the small floating piece of hardware.

“I should have been studying history.” Max switched to another tab in his browser. “According to my estimate, my current level of knowledge is a C+, I need to read this if I want to get a better grade on the test next week.”

“I have many bytes of historical data, what do you need to know?” Markov inquired while his screen changed to show a smiling face, then a set of numbers started to roll over the screen, Max smiled in return and adjusted his glasses.

“The problem is I can’t bring you to the test. I don’t know why we have to know all these events but we are seldom explained how they happened.” He frowned at the screen. “I mean, there was a whole chain of events that had lead to each world war, why would people do that?”

“According to the data I have it is due to international alliances that are formed to enhance trade and profit for few companies that have huge political impact ...” Markov continued to elaborate, while Max tried to focus on the fact sheet he was expected to know on the test.

“Come over Max, please, it’s dinner time.” His mother called from the hallway. Max pushed himself off from his desk and looked away from the screen. So many battles, so many people lost. Yeah they did some great inventions in war times but why?

“Coming.” He replied and got on his feet. Studying history was depressing, it looked like there was very little progress and always at a huge price and the only thing that ruled the world was the greed of the few.

Max greeted Markov quietly and went to the kitchen where his mother was still working on their dinner while she read the materials she needed to study to become an astronaut. Max instantly stepped in to help her, she was a student after all.

“Max, dear, I want us to have a family dinner at least a few times per week. I know I study all the time and have very little time for you but this is so heavy a subject and it is so hard to return to learning once you started to work.” She rambled.

“It is okay maman. I know you will get it. You will get used to learning again.” The boy tried to reassure her while he sett up the table and brought the food. It was a simple meal, but the two students were more interested to talk about science than the food.

Max really enjoyed the evening with his mother, they discussed each subject she studied in her training for an astronaut. How the trajectories are computed, which cosmic velocities were needed for what and what space garbage was.

They talked, they made plots and computations on any piece of paper or napkin they were able to find, even the kitchen wall and the doors to the cabinets, they studied the lectures and assignments and the boy was more than happy to participate.

Then, his mother raised an issue of her physical exercises needed to prepare for a mission, and Max was full of information, his mother was amazed at his level of knowledge, all that time with Kim had finally paid off.

Max finally stumbled to his room and straight into his bed, it was late, or perhaps it was early already, when he became too tired for science as his body and brain begged for some rest and sleep after a long day.

“What’s the time?” Jalil teased when he saw his little sister, Alix, unpack her backpack because he noticed that she took out the old watch. Alix rolled her eyes, but that only encouraged the young scholar to stop and cross his arms.

“It is dinner time.” Alim interrupted the staring competition. “You better appear at the table, I got your favourite dish all warmed up.” The man was wiping his arms and motioned with his head to be followed into the kitchen.

“Oh, mummy.” Alix snickered when she entered and recognized the smell. However, her joke only irritated her older brother, which made her enjoy the whole thing even more. Alim was too busy with the pot to notice what unfolded behind his back.

“It is not funny any more, you know.” Jalil scolded while he reached for the plates. He frowned and tried to look judgemental while he looked at his little sister. “It might have been funny to say mummy instead of yummy when you were … two?”

“Yeah.” Alix snickered while she collected the cutlery from a drawer. “Well, it is funny to me.” And she couldn’t care less if it was funny to anyone else. There were people who found it disgusting, but she still found it funny.

“Just make sure you don’t use it out of the house.” Alim warned calmly. “Or in front of guests … or friends … or … “ Alim was still busy with the pot as he stirred and tasted and stirred some more and not really concentrated on scolding his daughter.

“Or me? Why not me? I find that rather disrespectful!” Jalil protested, any other person would have been disgusted, but not Jalil. He placed the plates on the table and reached for other things to put on the table, mostly to move away while Alix set up the cutlery.

“Or Jalil.” Alim added absent mindedly. “By the way, I was studying the scrolls from which your mother translated this recipe and I believe she got one of the ingredients wrong so now I’m testing if my theory is correct.”

“What was wrong with the recipe maman got from the scroll? I liked it that way! Besides, just because you cooked it, it doesn’t make it right, just tastes differently. Yeah, so you are allowed to test your theories, while I’m not?” Jalil protested.

“Maybe because our papa did not try to sacrifice anyone to test his theory and resurrect and ancient queen? Or summon ancient aliens or present your crazy theory on an obscure TV show or … “ Alix listed anything she could think of.

“Why would I bother with something as obscure as detecting what kind of recipes were used for dinners in ancient Egypt? If the ancient Egyptians had a way to resurrect their dead, that would have been a real discovery!” Jalil raised his nose.

“Well, at least nobody had to be scarified, and no museum was destroyed while making this dinner, as I said, at worst papa destroyed a few eggplants and some spice.” Alix leaned towards the pot to smell it.

“Do not underestimate the power of food. It is important to study the day to day lives of our ancestors. There is so little known about how they lived, what they ate, we only know about how their rulers were buried.” Alim added.

“And their cats.” Alix added and then snickered. That particular comment made Jalil fume even more. Alix mewed and pretended she was cleaning herself with her fist. Jalil crossed his arms, looked away and took a few deep breaths.

“Studying how the cats were mummified and their significance in Egyptian mythology is an important branch of Egyptology and you should be proud that the largest expert in the field in the world is having a dinner with you.” Jalil retorted and demonstratively sat down.

“I bet they just trained on cats before they did it on people.” Alix shot back and snickered. She brought napkins and proceeded to bring the bowls to the table that her father had filled from still steaming pot.

“Well, I guess we already have a topic for your future research.” Alim noted to Alix as he sat down. “That would be a really interesting theory to prove.” He tapped his chin with his index finger. “Now, how would we begin to validate such claim.”

Alix looked at her watch. She knew exactly how she was going to make sure she knew all her theories were valid, but the watch wasn’t working, because she had the one that got hit by Chat Noir cataclysm.

They enjoyed the meal and chatted about the meaning of the different hieroglyphs and tried to decide if they liked the first recipe better than the second, but they remained undecided while Alix continued to fiddle with her watch, she had a feeling she needed it soon.

“What’s the time?” Marinette whispered into the darkness of her room. The digital clock was showing 2:42 in the morning, but somehow she felt that wasn’t the answer she needed. She plopped back onto her bed and stared through the rooftop window.

Adrien wasn’t there. Was she so used to him being there? She blushed in the darkness. Yeah, they had to separate, to sleep in their own beds and not sneak out in the middle of the night and sneak into the other’s bed. Huh, when did she start to think like that?

Was he alone too? Was he awake too? Did he think of her too? She missed him so much. Was he sad because the memories haunted him now with new information that his father was the villain they fought and his mother was in the basement.

But then her eyes flicked back to the clock that still showed 2:42, and her phone had the same time on it, but somehow she wasn’t satisfied with that. There was something about time and what was it that bothered her more than usual, and she was known to be late.

The next second she was opening the miracle box. Her hands hovered over the butterfly pin and the peacock brooch, but then she shook her head and extracted the watch. Fluff appeared and yawned. Was Fluff sleeping too? Did it matter?

“Hello my dear guardian.” Fluff greeted groggily and yawned again. “How can I help you?” The tiny rabbit then stretched its legs, first the front then the back and then he scratched his ear with his leg and the ear danced in the air.

“Fluff, what’s the time?” Marinette asked while the rabbit was still waking up and grooming. It was the only question on her mind and the real reason she was up, and the kwami was the master of time, if anyone knew, it was him.

“What’s the time you need it to be?” Fluff answered. “It can be any time you need, you just say the words.” Marinette smiled at the tiny kwami and scratched between his ears, this answer was not unlike anything Tikki ever replied.

“I have some carrot cake here.” Marinette offered. “Can you transform Alix after that … I think we should go to the temple to speak to the guardians.” Contrary to what she thought she knew about the future, giving Alix the rabbit miraculous now seemed like a good idea.

Fluff happily hopped over to the cake and was still eating when Marinette woke up Tikki, fed her with a macaron, packed more food for the way and transformed.

“What’s the time?” Adrien asked and rubbed his eyes and stretched while he tried to focus. In the darkness of his room he saw Ladybug by his bed, she was waking him up and asking him to get up, she wasn’t there to cuddle, obviously.

“Get up, we are taking Alix to the cave.” Ladybug was her usual serious self although she blushed in the darkness because she really wanted to sneak under that blanket and cuddle up next to Adrien and just close her eyes and fall asleep.

“I had a strange feeling we missed something, like we were supposed to do something.” Adrien replied as he got up, nudged Plagg to wake up and tossed a piece of cheese that got swallowed in one bite. “But I think it is too early ...” He trailed off and stared at the time on his phone.

“It is 3:03, but that’s not important. The time is not important.” Ladybug was trying to explain something, but her hands flailed all around as she tried to from words, sentences, to translate her hunch into something understandable to a human being, or at least a kwami.

“No, I did not mean too early in the morning, I meant … that we are a few years too early, that Alix is going to become Bunnix in a few years, when she grows up. But maybe that is what is bothering me.” Then he shrugged and called his transformation words.

“You are picking up Max, I’m going for Alix, see you on the top of the school.” Ladybug showed a box with the horse miraculous to Chat Noir and launched her yoyo through the window.

“For someone with a time travelling miraculous, you are definitely in a hurry.” Chat concluded before he vaulted away in the direction of Max’s place.

“What’s the time?” Max asked when Chat Noir woke him up. The boy did not ask more questions when he realized just who woke him up. Maybe he muttered something about China express but he obliged and transformed anyway.

“What’s the time?” Alix asked when Ladybug landed in her room. The pink haired girl was woken up and instantly reached for her watch. It took her a few moments to remember that Hawk Moth was defeated and she wasn’t summoned to go to a battle.

“Alix, this is the rabbit miraculous.” Ladybug offered her a box and smiled brightly. “This is a working rabbit miraculous.” She corrected herself. “I need you to transform and go with me to a place where we will learn what to do about your training.”

“Yes Ladybug.” Alix beamed, she took the watch she was given and in turned light blue, then a small rabbit appeared from the watch and Alix smiled. This was the real working miraculous, what she had was just a watch, apparently.

“Hello my master.” Fluff greeted. The tiny rabbit floated close to Alix’s face. “I am Fluff, the rabbit kwami.” Then the kwami chatted about the power of time travel in all tenses, Ladybug frowned as she tried to make sense of it but Alix only giggled and smiled.

“Please, call me Alix.” The girl replied and scratched Fluff between the ears before she fed him some carrots. “This watch is far cooler than mine.” She pointed towards the pocked watch by her bed. “Mine is only showing time.”

“I believe that it was fixed.” Fluff replied while he observed the other watch and nibbled on the carrot. Ladybug took the watch in her hands, this was a watch that Alix got from … herself? Her future self? But wasn’t it fix after she launched the miraculous cure?

“Whatever.” Alix shrugged. “It is not working now.” She made sure to stress the word now, talking to a kwami that is used to time travel was not always an easy task. She took a carrot and offered it to the rabbit

“For now, you only need to know your transformation words. You will learn how to make a burrow and how to jump through time.” Ladybug explained. She wasn’t sure which tense would Fluff use if he explained it.

“Okay.” Alix agreed. Only yesterday she thought how she might never become a hero although she saw herself from the future, but future wasn’t set I stone. “But I did not grow yet.” She transformed and looked at herself in the mirror.

“Don’t worry, you will … “ Ladybug took her yoyo in her hand. “We need to meet Chat Noir and Peagasus on the roof of your school, hurry up, they might be waiting for us already.” And then she launched her yoyo through the window.

“What’s the rush? We have all the time in the world.” Alix snickered while she observed herself in her super suit. She was about to leave, but at the last moment she stopped and reached for her watch and put it in the pocket of her suit.

The four heroes met on the school rooftop. Alix was the last to arrive. She wasn’t used to being the last one and frowned at her umbrella and her feet. Wasn’t she supposed to be faster in a super suit? Well she was faster than without it. Maybe if the suit had rollers?

“Bunnix, you are fine.” Ladybug warned her. “And you are not supposed to use your power just to be the first one to arrive anywhere. The powers of the miraculous are not to be used for selfish reasons and you are a weapon of the last resort.”

“Yeah, understood, you’re cool.” Little Bunnix confirmed and looked a bit sheepish, old habits die hard, at least it wasn’t Kim who arrived to the meeting spot before her, and those were all heroes and she was a hero now, everything was cool.

“Peagasus, please make us a portal to the cave.” Chat Noir asked the other hero and Bunnix gaped at them. It was a teleportation portal, of course it was, and that was a way to be really fast, except she had a power that allowed her to be somewhere even before she started to go.

“Voyage.” Peagasus called and created an orange glowing portal. The next minute, four heroes passed through a portal and found themselves in a small and dark cave that was already familiar to three of them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next one is going to explain a lot (but we are going back to Pema and Dorje when they were teenagers).


	48. It is time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pema and Dorje get a rather vague lesson in cause and consequence.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is very important!

48 It’s time

“It’s time.” Tenzin the teacher spoke solemnly during breakfast and just looked towards the side where Dorje and Pema were eating. His old warm eyes observed the two young teenagers with fatherly love while his lips formed a small smile. He stroked his beard and waited.

“I wish I had your certainty that they are the right choice.” Dolma, elderly woman wearing the same robes of a monk who sat by his side noted calmly. She barely raised her eyes from her breakfast that she hardly touched, her face was scrunched as if she was in deep thought.

“It is time.” The man repeated, stroked his beard and continued to observe the two young monks who had just noticed they were watched and stopped chatting, when they continued to eat their breakfast the old monk smiled widely, that was all the proof he needed to be certain.

“They lost the rings.” She noted absent mindedly, focused on the bowl of food before her as if she watched legions of enemy army assemble on the battle field and she had to form a strategy for defence with much smaller army. Tenzin just stroked his beard and smirked.

“Eat your breakfast Dolma, you need your food to give you energy for the day.” Tenzin spoke gently to the elderly woman by his side, she was cautious whenever a decision was to be made, but his eyes never left the young couple who just finished their food and were drinking their tea.

The elderly monk finally recognized an old friend in the food bowl and started to eat. Dorje and Pema got to their feet and approached the old monk while he did not say a word to them, he did smile, made a nod, stroked his beard and motioned with his head towards the door.

Dorje wordlessly bent over and took the old monk by his hand to help him up and they walked away together. Pema looked at Dolma questioningly, but the old lady shook her hand dismissively and returned to her breakfast, so the three left the breakfast room quietly.

“Dolma is the guardian of the miraculous, she will join us when she sees fit.” Tenzin stated once the three of them were seated. “The two of you were assigned the duty of being guardians to the temple.” He continued and observed their reaction.

Pema straightened up and looked at Dorje and then back at their teacher and then returned a firm nod. But Dorje never looked up, he continued to observe his hands. Both Pema and Tenzin looked at Dorje and waited for him to acknowledge that he participated in the conversation.

“How can we be guardians of the temple if the rings we got were taken from us?” Dorje finally spoke softly. “We were … that was our bond … that enabled us to be the guardians of the temple … wasn’t it?” He finally raised his head and looked at their teacher.

“It is unfortunate that you have lost the rings.” Tenzin spoke slowly. Pema slumped her shoulders. She was just starting to feel fine about the whole ordeal, to accept the fact that they made an error, that they got cheated.

“We could have taken the rings back while they slept in the temple.” She quickly raised her eyes towards the teacher and looked at him questioningly. “While they were here … we could have fought them or traded to get those rings back .. we could have … “

“Why didn’t you?” Tenzin had a knowing smile and stroked his beard. It was a trick question. He wanted to know what they were thinking. Dorje and Pema exchanged a look, they were puzzled themselves, really, why didn’t they?

Their rings were stolen while the two novice monks were in a strange city harbour, but the thieves followed them through the teleportation portal onto the high plains that surrounded the temple, they even spent the night, Dorje could have taken the rings back by force, but he didn’t.

Yes, they were tired back then, tired and scared after everything they have been through, but the thieves were a young couple, as tired and scared as the two of them, it would have been easy if they only tried to sneak up to them in the middle of the night or maybe ...

“I did not think about it.” Dorje admitted. “I was tired and hungry and scared and we just fought them and barely escaped back, at least we kept the miraculous and … it just didn’t occur to me.” Because he wasn’t violent. He shrugged and looked at Pema, it was her turn.

“I didn’t want them to see me, to see us.” She motioned towards Dorje. “For them to know that they found us … here.” She looked at her teacher and he nodded for her to continue. “They would know that this place hides magic and … that we … live here?” Tenzin motioned for her to continue.

“They saw us transformed, they saw the teleportation portal and they followed us through and they even got to the temple … they already know a lot! Too much! They do not need to know that this temple hosts the miraculous and their guardians.” She continued and looked at their teacher.

“They don’t know where we went after we passed through the portal. They did not see us! If we went to take the rings they would have seen us. And then they would know that it was us. that we were transformed and that we want the rings and that the rings are special.” Dorje concluded.

“We had to let them keep the rings to protect the temple and its secrets, to protect the order of the guardians.” Pema added. Suddenly she was proud of her actions, it seemed like they did the right thing, until another idea hit her. “But why did we let them go in the first place?”

There were images in her head, images she formed while she read all those books in the home of her parents or from stories she overheard her father told late in the night, images she stored in the back of her mind that sometimes haunted her like bad memories.

Because her father was a professional soldier, because he learned about strategies and because he loved to read about previous wars and the way they unfolded, especially the way they treated informers and spies. She shuddered at some of the things she read there.

“There are things that humans do to other humans … “ Tenzin trailed off and observed the two youngsters. Pema understood what the teacher was telling them. Dorje’s eyes went wide and he stared at Pema. “Things you saw or heard about, or even read about?”

Pema returned one firm nod. She was at the same time proud and ashamed that she knew about those things, that she knew what the teacher was talking about, that she knew in details while Dorje had perhaps only a vague idea.

“We do not do such things here.” Tenzin stated and observed how Pema got relieved after she heard that and then Dorje relaxed when he saw her relax although he was still puzzled why. His eyes flicked from his young wife to their teacher and back as he wanted answers, he wanted an explanation.

“My young students, you should know that out there in the world, knowledge can both save your life, because they might spare you for what you know, and take your life, because they might take it for what you know.” The teacher explained slowly.

Pema shuddered and Dorje did the same after a moment that took him to understand what he had just heard. He extended his arm and took her hand in his. His eyes were on their joined hands, while both replayed the events of their adventure in the harbour city.

“We have other methods here, that you still have to learn, to make people to unlearn what they know, to forget about the things they understood, to take memories from them.” The teacher continued slowly and watched them, because the students only heard stories about that.

“Then …” Pema looked at the teacher, then at Dorje and then back at the teacher. “Why didn’t we do that then? Why we let them keep the memories?” She demanded, because if they were able to remove the memories of the magical heroes from the young couple they would have been safer.

“It is not that easy, and it is also cruel, they would have no memory how they got here, but also no memory that they got married.” The teacher spoke in a warning tone. “We can denounce our memories if it is absolutely needed to keep the secret of the miraculous or the temple safe.”

Suddenly, both Dorje and Pema were scared, their eyes went wide as they observed their teacher. They might need to denounce their memories for safety. Then they remembered chants that spoke about losing memories, and understood it wasn’t just about illness and old age.

“And the rings … “ Tenzin spoke slowly and waited for them to raise their eyes. “The rings bind them to this place, to the temple, they will always strive to return, and the rings will lead them back to us.” His voice was calm and composed, but the two youngsters were not.

“What?” Dorje asked and straightened up. He was ready to jump on his feet and run after the couple that left the temple about a week ago. He was ready to run, day and night, until he caught up with them, and to snatch the rings back off from their fingers.

“But that would bring them back here.” Pema whispered. Her eyes flicked around as if Oliver and Therese were going to jump from any hidden corner, from behind a curtain, from below a carpet, as if they had other secret powers to sneak up to them.

“Them, or anyone else they pass the rings to, like their children or grandchildren.” The teacher continued with his teaching as if he was explaining how the grass grows in spring and the cattle graze it and produce milk that they make the cheese from.

“Isn’t that dangerous?” The young man inquired. “For the temple? For the order of the guardians? For keeping the secret of miraculous?” Why was their teacher so calm and composed? Because this was dangerous, it compromised the temple.

“The rings were made to hold magic that is intended to protect the temple and the order of the guardians. If they or their descendant and ring bearer returns, they will not harm this temple, whatever they do, their actions will protect us.” The teacher continued his teaching.

Both young monks were relieved to hear that. So the rings would make any bearer protect the temple, even if they were not the guardians of the temple, or at least it should prevent them from destroying it, it was a relief to hear a piece of good news, but the teacher wasn’t finished.

“Should anything happen to the temple or the guardians, the ring bearer will start a chain of events that should ultimately restore the temple and the guardians.” Tenzin concluded calmly and began to stroke his beard while he observed his students who were still processing the information.

“But what would happen to the temple?” Dorje quickly glanced over the heavy and firm walls that surrounded them and protected them from the elements outside, he wasn’t able to grasp what would destroy those firm walls, what would destroy the people inside, it was unimaginable.

“And to the order of the guardians?” Pema added horrified of the idea. “And how would a common untrained person like them be able to restore it if we were not able to protect it or fix it in the first place.” She protested and demanded an explanation.

“It is them, they are more likely to destroy it than anything else. They are evil, they stole from us they … “ Dorje almost started to tremble. Nothing was making sense. Did this mean that the teacher expected him, the future protector of the temple to fail at his duty?

“You think we will fail at guarding the temple just like we failed and lost the rings?” Pema inquired with bitterness in her tone while her eyes started to fill with tears. She felt like a failure, they made a mistake on their mission and it cost them dearly.

“Even if they are evil, even if they are stupid, their actions will lead to this temple or the order of guardians getting fixed or restored.” Tenzin repeated his teaching patiently, he needed his students to think about this calmly.

“But that means that the temple will get destroyed in the first place?” Dorje practically screamed back at his teacher. How was this old monk able to stay so calm and composed while he talked about such awful possibilities for the future.

“Such event can happen.” Tenzin stated although his posture revealed he was not comfortable with that. “We can not control everything that happens around us. Disaster can be caused by human or natural origin, we can not always prevent it from happening.”

“Okay.” Dorje nodded and accepted the claim. Indeed, he knew how cold winters and cold nights were taking its toll on human health and lives of those most vulnerable, like old men and young children. He was familiar with loss, but he thought the temple was safe from that.

“So … it is actually good that we lost the rings and that that couple has them? Because if something happens to the temple and if we fail to protect it then … they will somehow get it restored?” Pema concluded baffled by her own train of thought.

Tenzin smiled widely and stroked his beard and that was all the confirmation that he gave. Both young monks were rather uncertain about that, but decided to accept it and ponder about it later, suddenly they both felt much better about it.

“Even though they are untrained in magic? Even though they do not have a clue about the miraculous? Even if it is some descendant of theirs that has never heard of this place and never been here?” They both had many questions.

“The rings will bond them to this place, to the temple. The bond is so strong.” Tenzin reassured his young monks. The teacher was a patient man, he was ready to repeat it as many times as needed because he needed them to understand that.

“What can they possibly do?” Dorje was puzzled. All he was able to remember was a young couple, just like him and Pema, with no powers, and little financial means or knowledge, but big ambition, it was unclear to him.

“Do you know how an avalanche or a landslide occurs?” The teacher asked calmly. “Sometimes all it takes is a small nudge, one rock, one snow ball, at the right place, to start it. It might take many attempts to hit the right place.”

It was a comforting thought. If there was a disaster, if they or someone else messed up so badly that the temple and the order of the guardians get wiped up from the face of the Earth, somehow, they were going to be restored, everything was going to be fixed, they were allowed to make an error.

But it was a blow to their confidence, they considered themselves finished with schooling and training once they got a mission to go to, then they returned from a mission with the information they have been sent for but they paid the price, and now this?

“It is time.” Tenzin repeated the moment Dolma entered the small room where the trio was having their teaching seance. The elderly woman slowly dragged her feet over the carpet as she went towards the pillow where she finally sat.

“I am the guardian of the miraculous. In order to protect the temple, you need to learn how any if them can be used.” She stated simply. Both young monks were slightly confused by her statement, they were already through training and even wielded a few temporarily.

“Dolma and me are getting old, as the temple guardians you will take over some of the training duties from us.” Tenzin added when it became clear that Dolma was not going to elaborate her claims with additional explanations. “Only a few practical lessons that are too much for our old bones.”

“There is one particular miraculous that gives you power to travel through time.” Dolma continued slightly affected by the mention of old bones. “There is one particular teacher who trained each person who was ever given to wield that miraculous, but he is not with us now.”

“You shall travel to his time to be trained, you are going to be picked up, go to the cave, it is time.” Dolma was brief and then assumed the pose as if she was exhausted even from this little teaching she put herself through.

“Send our regards to the master and your fellow students and … do not tell anything about us and the life in this time, you will find us there, the younger version of us, while we were then.” Tenzin continued and smiled while Dolma sighed lost in her old memories. “Now go, it is time.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heh, uhm, not clear yet?


	49. Mother to a son

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Amelie talks to Felix (after Lila made her demands)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If anyone had stomach to read ch 43, Lila revealed herself there just like she did to Marinette in that bathroom.

49 Amelie talks to Felix 

Lila had made her threats and blackmailed her way into the world of high fashion and fame and then walked away, but Amelie did not pay attention to how much time had passed, she remained seated in her chair and observed the empty space before.

Long time ago she swore to herself that she will never use her own son to advance her business, whenever she saw Adrien not allowed to make pranks, she encouraged Felix to make one, they even did a few together.

When Emilie and Gabriel decided to have Adrien homeschooled, she encouraged Felix to go to school. And then the boy did not want to go. She was baffled, she was hurt by his arguments against going to school with commoners. It was hard, but she made it. Felix was going to school.

It was strange, when she thought about it now, how Felix was naturally inclined to become a person that Adrien was so meticulously brought up to be (and mostly failed). How they wanted Adrien sheltered and posh and how Felix was inclined to be sheltered and posh.

Amelie sighed as she watched a photograph of her brother in law, Felix did not want to be sheltered, he actually enjoyed being among people, she knew that, but it was often spiced up by his attitude and the way he always found faults with everyone and anything.

The two boys were painfully alike physically, so much so that it reminded Amelie each time that it wasn’t her who had given birth to the boy. There were late nights or strange times when Amelie even imagined that Felix was in fact Adrien’s twin.

She laughed at herself, that would have been much better situation what she had now, but the idea was driving her crazy. She did not remember the details, only the hospital, her sister changing and talking and doing something and when she left, there was a baby boy by her side.

It was far easier, in her narcotic induced state to tell herself that her sister had given birth to twins and decided to give one baby to her. That was in fact the story they told, so she decided to believe it, except, deep down inside, she knew there was more to it.

And then, a few years later, after a glass or a bouteille of the finest red wine, after Emilie had an argument with Gabriel and decided to spend an evening with her sister, where the two talked about the old days and their sons (and not their husbands).

That was the evening when Emilie told her everything, not just told her, her own sister demonstrated the powers she had! And then she told her about Felix and how he was made, the two of them barely conscious on a sofa in the living room.

The next morning was hard. The headache did not allow Amelie to talk to her sister again, to verify the informations she heard last night were correct. But the true reason was that Amelie did not want to know, she chose to remain ignorant and not to ask questions.

She wasn’t sure how the whole thing worked. Felix passed the few medical exams that the school required. He was seldom ill and even then it seemed to go away on its own, weather or not she intervened with any medications, Felix was a healthy boy.

Unfortunately, Amelie wasn’t the only one who knew the secret. Her husband must have known, but accepted the solution because it had drawn his beloved wife from that distant and dark mental place where she disappeared and locked herself into after she lost her child.

Gabriel obviously knew it too. Emilie surely told him. It was beyond doubt he knew. And he used it against her, subtly, each time they met. She put up with it with endless patience and gratitude towards them both, because she was given a son.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t a son, it was a sentimonster, and Gabriel did not keep his mouth shut, or maybe he did not tell, but he definitely chose to reveal that fact to this awful girl who had just blackmailed her into making that girl the face of the new brand.

Amelie did not really have a choice, not if she wanted her sister and her son, then again she thought there was more to what Adrien and Marinette had told her, she suspected they knew more than they let on so she did her research.

And there it was, a mere insinuation, a gossip section, a social media dead end post of a student who visited the temple, discarded by everyone else as empty babble of a deranged villain who explicitly said that his wife made a sentimonster to replace the dead child of her sister.

That tiny piece of information never trended, it was dismissed and ignored by the media, it was taken as a mere excuse at best in those few comments that it received, the general information stated that Emilie fell ill and was in a coma, the reasons are being investigated.

But Amelie knew that Marinette and Adrien were there, and she was certain that the two teenagers heard and understood those words, they never told her, they never asked if it was true, what if they believed that, what if they told Ladybug and Chat Noir?

Besides, it was only a question of time before the police investigation stumbled upon that piece of information and it is rather questionable how well they covered all the traces behind them when they did it in the first place. If Lila read those files, anyone could.

The idea of telling Felix how he came to be was dismissed instantly. There was no way for her to tell him that. She was going to hide it, to deny it to everyone else as an obscure statement of a deranged lunatic who terrorized the city of Paris to resurrect his wife.

Except she wanted her sister back too. She was grateful beyond words to see that those monks were trying to bing her back, that Ladybug and Chat Noir were willing to take her there, even after everything her brother in law has done.

Felix arrived back to the hotel room just in time for dinner. He was still under impression from all of the events of the day as well as his strange reactions to the girls around him. He saw his exchange with Chloe as simple teasing, a way to annoy each other, nothing else.

But there was Kagami, a girl he did not read yet, she was on friendly terms with a few people and closed up to practically anyone else, well there was a whole class and she did not got to the same class as them, perhaps that was the reason?

The boy was so deep in thought about the girls who seemed to be after him, or maybe he wanted them to be after him, he even remembered what Lila did, that he failed to notice his mother’s distressed state nor the way she paced nervously around the room.

“I have decided to order room service.” Amelie mentioned offhandedly. Felix did not produce a coherent reaction, just a hand motion that amelie chose to interpret as ‘as you wish’. The boy chose to store his school things and check the fencing aquipment.

“I had a visitor today and we have to discuss a few matters.” She observed her son as she expected a reaction if she went far in her explanation and did not want to do that in the restaurant that was rather full on a Saturday evening.

Felix smiled obligingly and composed himself. He was about to have a conversation with his mother and he did not want to be a blushing mess and to be asked if he met any cute or interesting girls yet. He approached the small table that was full of papers.

“Very well, mother, care to tell me what this is about?” The boy bent over to remove papers from one seat in order to take it. He wasn’t in the mood to tidy the table nor the space around, his mother had her system, she knew where each paper was and why it was there.

“Not now, let’s wait for dinner first and you can take a shower in the meantime.” She winked. Her hands instantly became busy, with a knowing look she fetched each document in the order she intended to store it and set them all on one single neat pile.

“Mind if I get a short shower first?” The boy asked offhandedly. He needed more time, he wanted a few more minutes just to compose himself and get those girls out from his head. He was going to have dinner with his mother, it was time to listen to her and how her day was.

“Care to tell me who visited?” Felix inquired while he collected a few things before going to the bathroom. It was just a casual thing, a simple question to demonstrate how he was paying attention to what she said, that he wasn’t a scatterbrained teenager.

“It was your classmate, Lila Rossi.” Amelie sounded very disappointed when she pronounced the name. She did not bother to act, she wasn’t going to pretend in front her own son for that girl, oh no, she was going to be as honest as she could afford.

“Her?” What was she doing here?” The boy almost snarled. He made it quite clear with his reaction that his opinion on the girl wasn’t flattering and he did not appreciate her company, but the same was true for many other people Felix ever met.

“She was here a few days ago too, as I mentioned, but this time … this time she showed her cards.” The woman sounded defeated.

“What does she want?” The boy demanded quietly. He stood tall and crossed his arms. This was different than usual demeaning attitude, Amelie noticed, because her son usually simply dismissed other people as boring, pitiful or annoying.

“She wants to be the face of the new brand,” Amelie replied quietly while looking at the floor, then she raised her face towards her son “alongside you.” She whispered. That was the conversation she intended to have over dinner, more relaxed and less scared.

“And what did you say to that?” Felix put his hands on his hips and faced his mother fully. Because it did not look good, he did see his mother defeated before, even worse than this, once it was her sister, his aunt Emilie who went missing, the second time it was his father who died.

“I had to say yes, for now, but I will stall the deal, I will do anything so it doesn’t happen.” The woman promised and looked him straight into his eyes. She had no idea how she was going to get both of them out of this situation, but she was determined to find a way.

“Why?” The boy tilted his head lightly and observed his mother. He wanted to know, he demanded to know why his mother, this strong and caring woman, would bend to demands of a simple classmate of his. But his mother misunderstood the question.

“Because … I thought you don’t like modelling, you don’t want to do it and she is a bad choice after her reputation and collaboration with Gabriel and I really have a bad feeling about that girl and … “ She trailed off in her explanation.

“No, I mean why would you do what she wants?” Felix clarified. “I don’t like that girl, she forced herself on me and kissed me on my first day of school when she thought I was Adrien and now she’s after me.” Amelie quirk an eyebrow at that but did not comment, she was on a mission.

“This family has secrets, Felix, and she knows them all, she somehow got her hands into the files of your stupid uncle who kept everything on a computer and a cloud and ugh … he let that girl to have the access to them.” She looked to the side.

“So what? Those are secrets of uncle Gabriel, not ours!” Felix protested. This made no sense to the boy. He wasn’t going to make any favours to anyone for the sake of his uncle, and it was an unpleasant surprise for him that his mother would do so.

Although she stood in the middle of the room and her son stood by the wall, Amelie felt like it was her who was pushed against a wall. Of course, she had to justify to Felix why the two of them were to keep it a secret without telling him what those secrets were.

“Room service.” There was a knock at the door.

“I will tell you later, go take a shower!” Amelie whispered and waited for her son to enter the bathroom before she called the room service to enter.

Five minutes later refreshed Felix sat on a cleared up chair while dinner was served on a cleared up table and his mother sat on another cleared up chair, the papers were neatly collected on a pile on a desk by the window.

Felix took a seat and observed the dinner without telling a word to his mother, he waited for her to start talking about whatever family secret that was that she wanted to protect so much so that she agreed to Lila’s terms.

“My sister had this nice brooch, in the shape of a peacock, I think I should have it now.” Amelie smiled at Felix, but it was forced, it was strained, she struggled to say only as much as was absolutely necessary and hoped her son would get it.

“Isn’t that the peacock miraculous, mother?” Felix inquired. It started to make sense, it was a secret about his aunt, his mother’s sister, of course she wanted to protect her sister. But that was bothering him. Why would she give him to Lila just to protect that secret?

“You are such a smart boy.” Amelie smiled gently. “So I think you already know who might have the peacock brooch and the pin.” She suggested. Emilie was able to control sentimonsters with the brooch, and she needed the pin because then she might control Lila.

“You mean those two who took them?” He replied rather flatly. “I am aware they said they returned them to Ladybug and Chat Noir … “ Felix folded his hands and observed his mother. There was something odd, something was not adding up, she was hiding something from him.

“But they might have been allowed to hold on to them as a reward as a some sort of souvenirs?” She smiled knowingly. It was a far cry, but she had to start somewhere. She needed the brooch if she wanted to control Felix and make him do what she needed him to do.

“It is either that or the two of them are Ladybug and Chat Noir themselves.” He replied. Nah, the two of them were definitely not the heroes in his eyes, too pathetic for that. Although, Ladybug knew Adrien well enough to distinguish him from Felix during his last visit.

But he liked theories. Especially conspiracy theories, the crazier the better, not that he believed in any of them, he was above that, he merely enjoyed to see how far human stupidity would go, for the sake of entertainment of course, and a prank or two.

“But in the interview we saw … “ She noted, but then she saw the teasing glint in Felix’s eyes and she knew he was teasing her, she smiled back, he was such a dork, he often sold such stories and then laughed at people who believed him, it was his kind of prank.

“It could have been an illusion or some other kind of magic.” He realized a way to continue his wild theory, he was ready to develop it further, but then he changed his mind. “But I doubt Adrien and Marinette are able to do anything like that.” They were too dull for him.

“We have to find the pin and the brooch.” She looked through the window. “Then we can learn what happened with Emilie and if there is any way to help her.” Suddenly she felt like she was drowning, because her plan might also lead Felix to the truth she wanted to hide.

Felix got quiet and his mother walked away.

“I know you, mother, but you’re wrong. I just spent a week with my boring cousin and his pathetic girlfriend and I’m sure they don’t have a clue.” Felix whispered and took out his phone, then he sighed before he typed a message to Lila.

“You still consider me a child mother, but if Lila knows anything, I’m going to get that from her and then I’m going to make her fell sorry she ever tried to force you and me into anything.” Then his face assumed a cold and cruel expression while he typed away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wish I had a time travel miraculous. I would use it for selfish reasons and catch up on some sleep.


	50. Curiosity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bunnix and PEagasus are talking and being impatient. Ladybug has some self doubt.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter turned out far more relaxed than first time ...

Chat Noir was the first one to step through the portal, he looked at the familiar cave, it was almost dark, dimly lit by the morning light that reached from the outside, but with his night vision he was able to see everything. Ladybug followed only a second later and stumbled a little until he caught her hand.

Bunnix passed through and did not look impressed, as rabbits were also able to see in the dark, all she was able to see were stone walls and faint light that passed through a narrow entrance. Peagasus was the last one to go through, he knew although he did not see much, he knew where he was, he led them there.

“What are we going to do Bug? We can’t go to the temple transformed.” Chat Noir put his hand on the stone by his side and leaned onto it. He smirked at Ladybug. He knew how she always had a plan, but he also knew how Marinette sometimes rushed in.

Ladybug observed her surroundings. There was nothing there, the portal they passed through closed behind them and the miraculous that the horse hero was wearing released its first warning. She expected to find something there, but it was empty, there were no clues.

“I … um … Peagasus will detransform anyway, perhaps the two of you can go outside, feed Kaalki on the path and then M.. um … “ She trailed off, she couldn’t really say to Chat that Max could easily find the way to the temple.

“Wait!” Both Peagasus and Bunnix shouted at the same time and then looked at each other surprised. Peagasus adjusted his glasses. Then they both looked away, Peagasus clenched his fist nervously, Bunnix rubbed the back of her neck.

“We are at the temple?” Bunnix was the first one to blurt out something as she stared at Ladybug. “That temple that got restored after you defeated that sentimonster … Feast? And it appeared on the place where my f… I mean that famous archaeologist found that piece of stone that was in fact …?”

Ladybug flinched when Bunnix almost referred to her father in front of Peagasus, she intended to keep their identities a secret from each other, unless the monks in the temple decided on the contrary. Besides, it was Alix who needed to learn, why did she suggest for Max to go too?

“And why we can’t go to the temple transformed?” Was the next thing Bunnix asked after she cut her own speech not to reveal her identity to Peagasus. “What will happen if we end up there by accident? And how close can we get?”

It was Chat who answered the questions, he saw how Ladybug was rather confused, like when she could not make sense of the lucky charm she got, so he stepped in and explained about the temple of the guardians and how they were not supposed to enter transformed, not really forbidden.

“And how am I to have my training in the temple if I can’t go to the temple transformed and how will I keep my identity a secret?” Bunnix put her hands on her hips. Chat Noir was relaxed in his pose while Ladybug was nervously looking around.

Ladybug spiralled. Was this whole thing just a mistake? Did she rush everything? Bunnix did say that she got her miraculous when she was much taller. What was she thinking? She just woke up in the middle of the night and summoned three of her classmates for a little night walk.

“Peagasus, let’s go outside and feed your kwami. We should not get closer to the temple while transformed.” Chat proposed when the one last warning beep sounded from the glasses Peagasus was wearing.

“As for the identities, the monks here can learn your identities, at least some of them, they knew instantly when Chat and me arrived here as civilians.” Ladybug explained. She wanted to warn them how the monks made them reveal their identities to each other.

Peagasus nodded that he understood and walked out together with Chat. He detransformed and Max admired the view. It was really beautiful in the early morning sun that added the orange and yellow shade to everything around, including the snow in the distant mountain tops.

“You’re here!” They heard a voice from the side. Max was startled, Kaalki ate his food while Chat grinned at the two people who approached them down the path.

“Pema! Dorje!” Chat greeted. Max recognized the two monks as soon as they got sufficiently close and greeted both of them.

“We brought the wielder of the rabbit miraculous. She calls herself Bunnix.” Chat explained. “Ladybug thought it was time to bring her for the training.. The two of them are still in the cave. We used teleportation to get here.” He motioned towards Max.

“I’m glad to see you again, Max.” Pema smiled brightly. “Why don’t you feed your kwami and join Bunnix in the cave, Ladybug and Chat Noir need to detransform to talk to the teacher about your training.”

Max smiled and agreed with one firm nod. Soon he was able to transform and return to the cave while Pema and Dorje asked Ladybug to come out where she found Adrien who detransformed the moment Peagasus was back in the cave and Plagg who whined for local cheese.

“Spots off.” She whispered and reached for a macaron to feed her kwami. “I was wrong. I don’t know what I expected, but this wasn’t it.” She whispered to her kwami. “Why we don’t take Alix with us to meet Tenzin?” She asked the two monks.

“Because of your and their identities. The two of them can wait in the cave a little.” Pema winked and motioned for the two teenagers to follow. “Come on, the teacher is always happy to see you. We just had breakfast, would you like something?”

“Cheese” Plagg whined although he just ate a piece of Camembert that Adrien brought with him. Adrien’s belly growled. Marinette and Tikki laughed.

“You and your kwami are much alike.” She teased.

“Well you are much like your kwami.” Adrien reached for Tikki and patted her on the head.

“I feel guilty for leaving them alone like this.” Marinette stopped for a moment and looked back towards the cave.

“Don’t worry, we will return for the two of them as soon as you are in the temple.” Pema replied and encouraged her to continue walking along the path.

“They don’t know each other’s identities.” Marinette warned quickly.

“Don’t worry, we’ll keep that in mind.” Pema replied and smiled to herself.

“We should wait … while they um … decide what to do with us?” Peagasus adjusted his glasses and smiled sheepishly. He shrugged and tried not to feel nervous because of the silence in the cave, because he was left alone with a new hero. He always hat Markov to talk to.

“I’m not sure about this. I expected to get this suit much later … when I’m older … and taller! Much taller.” Bunnix crossed her arms and looked at the other hero. He wasn’t much taller than her, they were both short, and Peagasus was a boy.

“You expected to get a miraculous?” Peagasus frowned and looked at the other hero, then he leaned in and observed her really closely, she frowned back and observed him too as she imitated his movements. They moved in circle around each other.

“Are you Chloe?” He finally asked. That made both of them stop, they stared at each other for a moment and then Bunnix burst into loud unrestrained laughter.

“Chloe?” She screamed between the laughs. “Chloe as in Chloe Bourgeois Chloe?” Bunnix was holding her belly and bent over while she laughed, then she straightened up and stared at the other hero, her eyes were wet with tears of laughter, and then she laughed some more.

“Well, you said you expected to get a miraculous!” Peagasus adjusted his glasses. “I can tell you with certainty that she is at the top of the list of candidates for such a statement.” He never expected to get a miraculous, especially not after Hawk Moth was defeated.

“Oh! That? Um … you see … there was an akuma from the future, and I appeared, I mean Bunnix, wait! I’m Bunnix.” She pointed to herself. “I mean, the future me appeared, transformed and that is how I knew that I was going to get this miraculous one day.”

“So you met … yourself? From the future? As a superhero?” Max adjusted his glasses and crossed his arms. Alix nodded. “And you recognized yourself … somehow? Or you just told yourself that you are you? “

“I did not reveal my identity to me!” Bunnix shifted nervously from one foot to another. “I mean the future me did not reveal and I was me, well the civilian me, so she recognized me and … “ She trailed off, there was no way for her to tell him about the watch.

“Oh, so you kept your identity a secret?” Peagasus was positively surprised by the revelation but also deflated guiltily at the same time. “But she recognized you and told you she was you? So she revealed her identity to you!”

“No, you see, I knew she was me when we were looking for her!” Bunnix tapped her foot nervously. “Um, I had to find Ladybug and Chat Noir and lead them to me, because I got this message, a riddle, from myself to find me.”

“That doesn’t make much sense.” Peagasus adjusted his glasses. “How did you know where to find Ladybug and Chat Noir? And how did you get the message … from yourself? And how did you send it to you?” There were so many questions, but then there was time to kill.

“Well you see, I actually got a miraculous … “ She did not want to say for her birthday. “Well I had it, but it was dormant, then I got a message through it and knew I had to look for them and you know how Nadia and Alya are reporting on each akuma attack ...”

“Okay, I get it, but if you had a miraculous, how did you have the miraculous?” Peagasus scratched his head. “I mean the future you? If you were transformed ... I mean … that means there were two at the same time?”

“This miraculous enables time travel! And my miraculous was broken, I mean hers. I mean mine. I mean the future me mine. The future me was transformed and buried in a piece of rock but she said her miraculous was damaged with a cataclysm.”

“Oh, so you fixed her miraculous then? Or Ladybug fixed it with her miraculous cure? Or? How did you, I mean future you, go back? Did you go back? Are there two of you?” Peagasus was too absorbed in the problem to stop asking questions.

“No, we just switched, she gave me hers and I gave her mine so she was able to transform and continue the battle.” Bunnix explained. They both looked at each other and understood, everything was explained, including why Bunnix knew her own identity. How confusing.

“So … you are here for … a training?” Peagasus was confused. He did not get training, save a few instructions in the middle of an akuma battle, and the akuma was his maman, really, that wasn’t much of a training, but he was proud to be able to compute the destination point on his own.

“That’s what Ladybug said when she burst into my room in the middle of the night.” Bunnix shrugged. “I can’t tell if any of the other heroes got any training. Perhaps Ladybug and Chat Noir were going here for a training?”

“No … at least it wasn’t me who brought them here.” Peagasus frowned. That thought, that sentence …. there was some hidden meaning there, but he wasn’t able to reach it, he yawned, he did get very little sleep, too little, and his mother always said …

“I did not expect to get it, to get a miraculous, I mean a working miraculous, because I still have that one that did not work, I did not expect to be called after Hawk Moth got defeated.” Bunnix admitted.

“Not even after you saw yourself, your future self, wield a miraculous? You still doubted? I mean, I did not expect to be called again after Hawk Moth and Mayura were caught and their miraculous was taken but … you?” Peagasus was surprised.

“Hey, the future isn’t set in stone!” Bunnix grinned. “But here I am, already transformed, although the future me told me that I will get a miraculous only when I get to be six feet tall.” She looked up approximately to the height where the face of future Bunnix would be.

“Phew.” Peagasus wasn’t sure what to reply to that. “Whatever we do right now can impact the future, I guess.” He looked towards the same spot where Bunnix was looking as if there was something there to see, besides the thin air and the stone behind it.

“I guess we got here early.” Bunnix tapped her food nervously. “A few years too early I’d say.” She smirked and looked to the side. “It is not like there is a villain to defeat and Ladybug and Chat Noir are probably just bored without all the akuma.”

“That is not entirely true … “ Peagasus straightened up. Now he had a story to tell. “They are investigating Hawk Moth, and Mayura, but mostly him, and what happened and why he became that way and why his wife got that way.”

“Oh, yes, I heard about the investigation, the media is just inventing stories and speculating, there is not much to cover now that there are no akuma attacks any more.” Besides it wasn’t like she was following that as religiously as Alya did.

“And they are trying to fix her, you know, so that Adrien, you know, the boy who defeated Hawk Moth, his own father, at least gets his maman back.” Peagasus added quietly. He was rather proud of himself that he was helping the heroes to bring back maman of his classmate.

“Adrien?” Bunnix was very familiar with that boy and his sufferings, there was no way for her not to know, she was Marinette’s friend after all. “Adrien Agreste?” She corrected herself to sound a bit less familiar. “At least he got rid of such a father.”

“Yeah, but he has no family now, or maybe very little, some distant relatives of his or something.” Peagasus added. “Although I think he is living with his friend now.” He trailed off. “I wish I knew what we are expected to do here, I’m kind of sleepy too.” He yawned.

“Well, I do have the power of time travel … if only I knew when I needed to go.” Bunnix observed her umbrella, she remembered rather vividly when Bunnix, the older version, opened a time portal, but she still did not know how to control it, nor when to go, but she was ready to try.

Marinette stopped before they reached the temple, deep in thoughts, not very clear thoughts, but she was thinking. She was already turning around. Adrien, Pema and Dorje chatted about anything and everything, what was new in the temple and how was life in Paris.

“Hey, Marinette?” Adrien called quietly after he stopped and turned around to see where she was. He saw her face changed several emotions rather quickly, but he clearly recognized concern and panic, he knew there was something going on.

“What was I thinking? We left them there. They can go anywhere and anytime. And it is Alix. She is not going to wait for long. She is going to try out her powers … “ Marinette turned towards the monks. “I’m going back. They should be supervised.” She started running down the narrow path.

“Me too!” Adrien added after he shrugged. He always followed his lady. The two of them were running for less than half a minute before they realized that they might transform and get there faster. Plagg whined about cheese while he was sucked into the ring.

“I can make a portal, a time travel portal and we can go to any other time.” Bunnix grinned. Peagasus wasn’t so sure about that. “I saw how Bunnix, well me, the older me did it before. I have food for my kwami. We can always come back to this exact time.”

Peagasus finally smiled and nodded. He was all for it. It was supposed to be training, so why wouldn’t they try their powers and give it a go. Suddenly he was rather excited, while Bunnix made a circle with her umbrella and a glowing disc formed in the cave.

“Wow!” Peagasus reached with his hand. “When are we going?” He inquired with a wide smile.

“The past.” Alix shrugged. “I know a lot about the past. We will find our way there.”

Smaller Bunnix and Peagasus both reluctantly passed an orange glowing disk to the other side. But what they found was disappointment, they were in the same cave, they observed it, they touched the walls, they walked around.

“Perhaps my miraculous is still not fully operational.” Bunnix slumped her shoulders.

“Time travel is tricky, that is why Ladybug wanted you to have the training first.” Peagasus was doing his best to be comforting (and failing).

“Huh.” Ladybug huffed as she passed through the disc.

“Just in time.” Chat Noir smirked when he passed through.

Ladybug groaned.

“I’m really sorry I used my powers, Ladybug, but it is not working.” Bunnix shrugged.

“Oh it is working.” Ladybug replied flatly.

“How do you know?” Peagasus looked around and was rather confused.

“When are we, anyway?” Chat leaned towards Bunnix.

“Just in time, just in time.” An elderly man spoke as he entered the cave and motioned for Bunnix to follow and for the others to stop and wait a little. They all looked at each other, looked rather confused, shrugged, and did as instructed. There was not much else to do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So another old man?  
> Huh?


	51. Looking for a Master

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The four heroes are in the cave where they just met an old man. Some of them hope they just met the right old man.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm keeping this line of the plot uninterrupted until they get out of it otherwise it would be a mess.

Looking for a master

“Are you master Shi?” Ladybug asked with all the confidence and air of a Ladybug, in the best Chinese she was able to muster, as she remembered the name of the master mentioned by Fluff, who should be training Alix. Chat looked proud, Bunnix and Peagasus were confused.

The old man did not answer, he observed the four heroes slowly, his eyes moved over them one by one as he took in all the details of their suits. The dim light of the cave did not help his efforts that were further hampered by his poor eyesight due to the old age.

“How did you know when to go?” Chat Noir asked Bunnix teasingly as he leaned onto the stone wall and waited for an answer from the old man. He remembered his first meeting with master Tenzin rather vividly. “Did Ladybug tell you? Or Fluff?”

“What? No! Nobody told me … I just … I wanted to try out this thing.” Bunnix pointed towards her umbrella. Her miraculous issued a warning and she flinched from the sound. Chat Noir chuckled and shook his head. Peagasus smirked, he knew what the answer was.

“You used your power and you are going to detransform soon, you have to feed your kwami before you can transform back. I would advise you to do it outside of the cave to keep your identity hidden from us. Although I think someone else here knows it already.” Peagasus adjusted his glasses as he spoke and glanced towards Ladybug. Bunnix miraculous issued a warning.

“Detransform, yes, right, I remember that, the older me also detransformed and fed my kwami, I mean, her kwami, I mean our kwami, I mean she fed Fluff, urgh!” Bunnix groaned and took a few determined steps around the old man to get out from the cave.

Ladybug stared at the old man while she waited for an answer. The longer he kept quiet, the longer it took him to observe the young heroes, the more nervous she was. Because if this was a wrong time, and they were hardly so lucky to hit it right, then they were in trouble.

“Are … you … master … Shi?” She asked again as she pronounced the words slowly, one at a time, to make sure she said exactly what she wanted. She glanced towards Chat Noir as if she asked for some support, but he just nodded with a proud smile that she spoke correctly.

Peagasus wasn’t feeling very comfortable, but he trusted the permanent heroes and simply mirrored their reaction, which was hard to do because Ladybug was alert and Chat Noir was rather relaxed, at least he appeared that way, casually leaned on the stone side of the cave.

“Um.” Ladybug flailed her hands nervously, then touched her index fingers, she took one more breath and focused. “Which year is this?” She pronounced slowly and then exhaled and concentrated on the old man unsure if she was going to understand him.

That however produced little reaction in the old man, his eyes flicked quickly towards Ladybug’s face when she spoke and he did flinch lightly at the mention of the word ‘year’ but all those reactions were rather subtle.

“Ladybug and me are the guardians of the miraculous. We are looking for master Shi. He should train our fellow hero, Bunnix, the wielder of the rabbit miraculous.” Chat Noir spoke, he felt obliged to help Ladybug as he noticed how she became more and more nervous.

Ladybug mustered as much confidence as she was able to, she was (almost) always the picture of self confidence when she was fighting an akuma, but now she was also a guardian and she was talking to one of the monks from the temple in a language she did not really master.

There was a moment of awkward silence in which the old man first stepped towards Ladybug and observed her carefully, then he proceeded towards Chat Noir and finally approached Peagasus, he walked around Peagasus and observed him from all sides.

Peagasus shifted from one foot to another and glanced nervously towards Ladybug and Chat Noir unsure on what to do, but when the monk finally stopped in front of him and their eyes met, he stilled and they stared at each other intently.

There was a moment of awkward silence, before their breathing evened and they just looked at each other. Chat smirked and nudged Ladybug in the ribs, she glanced towards him but then returned her attention towards the quiet exchange before them.

“Hey, I’m back if you missed me. Fluff eats rather quickly.” Bunnix stormed into the cave only to be stopped by a red hand with black spots on one shoulder and a black hand with black claws on another, Ladybug put her index finger over her mouth.

“I am master Juli. And I am the guardian of the miraculous too.” The man finally spoke. Ladybug and Chat Noir acknowledged that they understood then they translated for the other two heroes. “You can take them to master Shi.” Master Yuli spoke to Peagasus.

The said hero was confused when he was explained what was said, how was he supposed to know. But then the old man took his hand and laid it on the stone side of the cave, then master Juli did the same with the other hand, and then he moved between them.

“I thought master Shi was in the temple.” Ladybug spoke quietly. “I was wrong.”

“We are lucky Bunnix here hit the right time on accident.” Chat noted.

“Who is master Shi.” Bunnix inquired.

“A guy who is supposed to train you.” Chat replied.

“And you were not supposed to just test out your powers, time travel is the weapon of the last resort.” Ladybug chided.

“Sorry Ladybug, I didn’t think there would be much damage if I just skipped a few centuries backwards and take a peek! It was just that dull cave, besides I was supposed to learn about my powers, right?” Bunnix replied sheepishly.

“We were not trained at all before we engaged in our first battle Bug, don’t be so harsh.” Chat teased.

“Yeah, remember how that one turned out?” She reminded him how he wasted his power, not that she was much better herself.

“I do … but we learned our lesson and improved quickly.” He countered.

“This is not a joke, this is the power of time travel, this is not something to mess with, that is exactly why it is considered the weapon of the last resort, ugh.” Ladybug groaned. The whole time, Peagasus and master Juli were in a bubble of their own.

Peagasus turned around and created a portal with one swift motion of his hand. Rather confused, he turned around towards the older man. Master Juli returned one firm nod and motioned with his hand for the young hero to go through.

“Where is he going?” Ladybug frowned as she looked at Peagasus who just passed through the orange glowing disc. Master Juli turned towards them and motioned with his hand to the others to follow through the disc.

“Where are we going?” Chat Noir asked while he casually strolled towards the disc.

“To see master Shi.” Master Juli explained.

“Okay I’m in!” Chat Noir jumped into the disc. Ladybug’s eyes went wide at that.

“Like a little caution would kill you.” Ladybug muttered and marched towards the portal.

Alix stared at the portal, then at the old man and then back at the portal. After Ladybug disappeared behind the orange disc, she shrugged and decided she had no choice but to follow through, everyone else had already gone through.

“Where are we?” Chat asked as he approached Peagasus and turned around to take in the scene around. Peagasus stood still rather dazed and confused with the place he found himself in. It was flat, wide open space with grass and few trees and a lot of small homes.

“It is a place … Master Juli directed me to, but I don’t know what this place is, just that the person we are looking for is somewhere here.” And while Peagasus was talking, his miraculous issued its first warning.

Ladybug walked out from the portal with confidence and determination, as long as nobody was shooting anything directly at her she was fine, she was ready to see anything, to meet anyone, they were looking for master Shi and he was a teacher specialized for time travel that was a weapon of the last resort, it had to be something dramatic.

They stood in the middle of a wide path, covered with dirt, it was soil from which the grass was missing. There were plenty of patches of grass and there were buildings, houses, probably homes, built all around them. And nobody was shooting anything at them.

It looked like a really wide street, except there was no pavement, and no separate route for the vehicles and pedestrians, only a few metres wide path with different dwellings built at different distance from the same path. There were no flames or a wall of water, no imminent danger.

There were no monsters, the planet earth apparently still rotated around its axis, and on its usual orbit around the Sun, there was no big city destroyed by flood and the moon was probably whole although it wasn’t visible, no major disaster that required intervention from a time traveller.

“Where are we?” Ladybug inquired while she looked around and observed the scenery, it looked peaceful, few people tended their vegetable gardens. Bunnix had just passed through the portal behind her, shook her head at the question and walked towards the heroes.

“I …. have no … idea.” Peagasus admitted. This was entirely different from anything that he had ever seen. There were homes build from wood and stone and plastered with mud and covered with grass and dry hay. And there were definitely ducks somewhere near, at least they sounded like ducks.

“A place long ago and far away … “ Chat grinned.

“How did you decide where to go?” Ladybug inquired.

“Master Juli directed me.” Peagasus shrugged.

“How? We did not hear him talk and even if he did … “ Ladybug wanted to understand, she narrowed her eyes, she was barely able to communicate in basic Chinese and she was rather certain Max wasn’t able at all (at least not without the assistance from Markov).

“I wouldn’t understand a word. It was just, I had that feeling that I knew where I’m expected to go.” Peagasus shrugged, he had no explanation, just a feeling on what to do, and Max was never a person who worked on a hunch, everything had to be precomputed with a margin for error.

“So we got here based on a hunch?” Ladybug put her hands on her hips. It was actually starting to make sense, because she started the whole process based on her own impulse.

“You mean that old man did not tell you where to go? Haven’t given you coordinates or something? You just created a portal to somewhere and you all just hopped through without knowing where you were going?” Bunnix inquired and snickered.

“Isn’t that exactly what you did?” Chat leaned in towards Bunnix, smirked and teased.

“Nope, I knew exactly _where_ I was going.” Bunnix replied and leaned towards him with hands on her hips.

“Yeah?” Peagasus raised an eyebrow, he was there when she spontaneously decided to give her miraculous a test drive.

“Yeah! And we got exactly there, to the same cave!” Bunnix was standing face to face with Peagasus.

Chat started to laugh loudly.

Ladybug groaned and pulled fingers down her face.

“Yeah.” Peagasus breathed ou, she got him there, they did end up exactly on the same spot, there was a catch, she was a time traveller, he put hands on his hips. His miraculous issued its second warning. He flinched. “So tell us, then, _when_ exactly are we?”

“Now?” The truth was, Bunnix did not think of a specific time, somehow, it was probably Fluff who decided that for her while she was transformed, and the kwami probably had some default time, and it was the time when the teacher, master Shi was most active. But Bunnix did not know that, not in advance, she looked around with narrowed eyes and then she grinned.

“I know exactly when are we.” Bunnix turned around theatrically and raised her hands as if to emphasise her words.

“Yeah, you got us to the when.” Chat smirked.

“Um, that is not the reason, I sort of just wanted to go to some other time because I was bored. Just to give my miraculous a test ride.” Bunnix admitted. Ladybug crossed her arms. Chat smirked. “But there are other clues.” She added.

“Ok, when and where?” Peagasus demanded. He knew the distance and the direction from the cave he too them to, but it wasn’t sufficient information for him. He was missing Markov, the tiny robot would have compared this scene to anything he was able to find in some database … wait … this was probably ancient past … there were no databases … at least not those with remote access.

“At the time of master Shi?” Ladybug frowned, she was hoping they were right. “The monk, master Juli, he directed us to master Shi. We are looking for master Shi, he is a teacher and this is why we are here.” It wasn’t that far fetched as some of her plans in akuma battles.

“Are you sure we are looking for the right master Shi?” Chat half teased. “I mean, what if there wasn’t only one master Shi? What if there were more?” Right then he was the only hero who did not make a decision for all of them based on nothing explainable by common sense, aside from the mysterious power of miraculous.

“Statistically speaking … “ Peagasus adjusted his glasses. Bunnix turned towards him with a hint of recognition in her eyes, but it faded quickly. Both Ladybug and Chat Noir gave him warning looks. The portal disappeared with a pop.

“Hey, the old man did not follow us.” Bunnix frowned at the place where the portal used to be, the other three heroes were rather busy by frowning at each other.

“He is master Juli to you!” Chat teased. Then he noticed how Ladybug looked at him. “Well, to all of us.” He corrected. Bunnix nodded to acknowledge she heard and understood but turned around and observed something in the direction where the portal used to be.

“As I was saying, I don’t know how common was the name Shi in this specific time period, but it is safe to assume that even if one percent of population is named Shi and the title of master is assigned ot only one percent of them, that would still leave us with … “ He trailed off as he got interrupted.

“Okay, no, this has to make sense. I just need some time.” Ladybug raised her hands. She narrowed her eyes and looked in the direction of quacking ducks. She was tempted to actually call for a lucky charm, with some luck, she would get a calendar with exact date and a year.

“Want me to distract those ducks for you?” Chat teased. He was turning everything into a joke, as usual. Ladybug clenched her yoyo as she tried to decide weather to call her power or not, yet, she would probably just got a vase from the contemporary dynasty that would be no help at all.

“I have no idea who this master Shi is, but I know exactly when and where we are.” Bunnix motioned with her hands again to encompass all their surroundings. That turned the attention of all three heroes back to her.

“Okay, so tell us then.” Peagasus demanded.

“How do you say?” Bunnix smirked.

“Please?” Ladybug and Chat Noir replied in unison.

“Yes. Please.” Peagasus repeated with his arms crossed. His miraculous issued another annoying warning.

“This is late 13th century Xanadu.” Bunnix announced.

Ladybug flinched. Chat Noir smirked. Peagasus was confused and looked around. How did she know? There was nothing particular on the soil, the few houses around them did not look like much, there were few domesticated animals and poultry roaming around the fenced yards.

“How does she know?” Ladybug and Chat Noir whispered simultaneously.

“How do you know?” Peagasus voiced the question louder.

“Because that is the tower and the gilded palace of the Kublai Khan.” Bunnix pointed in the direction where the portal used to be. “Look far, really far.” She advised.

And right there, in the distance, they saw it, a palace that glittered with gold and a white tower next to it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hopefully the enxt chapters go out one per day, but no promises.


	52. Xanadu

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> looking for master Shi in an ancient city

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Xanadu was 'briefly' a really large city for that time

Xanadu

“Xanadu?” Chat smirked as he observed an object in the distance that was so far it looked tiny. Distant memories from private tutoring during the homeschooling days and several stories told by his Chinese tutor rang a bell, he did hear about the place before, maybe.

“Xanadu … “ Ladybug trailed off, she had heard of the term before, but she was rather certain it had nothing to do with a city in medieval China. She was certain she never heard of a city under that name, perhaps the name had changed over the years?

“Xanadu is better known as Shangdu.” Peagasus corrected as if that made a difference. He narrowed his eyes, rolled his shoulders and then straightened up as he tried to catch a glimpse of the shiny object in the distance that he was told was a palace, but all he saw was a glint of something shiny.

“In a few hundred years, there will be only stone and marble remains of this place and almost nothing left to excavate by the late … twentieth century.” Bunnix elaborated and then sighed. “But I guess we are not here for archaeology.”

“Exactly.” Ladybug grinned. There was another warning sound from the miraculous Peagasus was wearing and they all turned towards him. “I would suggest you to feed your kwami behind those bushes while I think of a strategy.”

Peagasus quickly hid behind a bush to detransform. Kaalki looked exhausted and hungry, but a small carrot and a little grass recuperated him quickly. Max observed the tiny horse while he ate, his own stomach growled.

“Why don’t you take one carrot too my noble master?” Kaalki offered and pointed towards a small bag of baby carrots that Ladybug provided for Max to feed his kwami, since she only had carrots for both Kaalki and fluff.

“Thank you.” Max nibbled on a carrot uncertain that this will in fact provide for a proper breakfast, but at least his stomach should be quieter. “How… How did I know where to go?” The boy finally had an opportunity to ask the question.

“Master Juli directed us, you understood the direction and the distance, didn’t you?” The tiny horse looked like a teacher who was reviewing knowledge of his pupil. “You got to the place you wanted to go to.”

“Actually, I thought this was rather random, I’m not sure where we are going, I thought you would be able to tell me, to advise me, to give me a hint.” Max adjusted his glasses (his miraculous) and looked at his kwami.

“Well, it would help if you told me what are we doing noble young man.” Kaalki nibbled on some grass and observed his chosen. “I know many places that my chosen had visited, what is the place you are looking for?” Then the tiny horse nibbled on more grass.

“We are looking for someone named master Shi, given the average human life expectancy in the middle ages and the size of the country, there is less than one percent probability that we got to the right place at the right time.” Max sighed.

“And you don’t know where this person is?” Kaalki asked quizzically. Max affirmed with one nod.

“We just made a portal to a city called Xanadu.” Max explained. “It looks like the place is rather big, there is high probability of finding someone named master Shi here.” He motioned with his hands. “How do you know about master Juli anyway?”

“He was the guardian of miraculous long time ago, a fair and noble man, and he was also my wielder, which was very practical at the time as he was able to use teleportation to deliver the other miraculous where needed.” Kaalki stated proudly.

“Oh I see.” Max pondered. It was starting to make sense, if the man was the guardian of the miraculous and also a wielder of the horse miraculous then it wasn’t too far fetched that the two of them somehow understood each other.

“What is taking him so long?” Bunnix tapped her foot on the hardened soil that formed a path between the grass patches. It was a path that was definitely soft and muddy in a rainy period, but they were fortunate that it was rather dry.

“He is feeding his kwami.” Chat smirked. “Some kwami need more time than other.” He knew that Plagg was going to remember what he said while transformed.

“And more food and ask for it more often and more dramatically.” Ladybug teased.

“Not to mention the different smells.” Chat made a disgusted face. “My kwami likes disgusting smelly cheese.”

“Huh? How do you carry that around?” Bunnix frowned.

“Let’s say I adopted to wear a perfume all the time.” Chat smirked and looked at Ladybug. He remembered how she recited, well how Marinette recited the commercial for his perfume when they escaped to the cinema.

“So you carry that stinky stuff around and you’re using a perfume to disguise a disgusting smell?” It was time for Bunnix to make a disgusted face.

“Isn’t that like a tradition? Of the French nobility at least?” Ladybug, well Marinette under the mask, had to defend Adrien, who was currently Chat Noir, it was an impulse, a reflex, she had to do it, it was like second nature to her.

“Yeah … I prefer baguettes to stinky cheese and perfume to hide it.” Bunnix muttered.

“What can I say?” Chat smirked and wrapped his arm around Ladybug’s shoulders. “I prefer baguettes too.” Then he glanced towards Ladybug who blushed profusely, in a way that Bunnix found rather familiar but was just not able to place.

“I would love a baguette right now.” Peagasus noted as he approached from the bush. “I don’t know about you, but I’m hungry.” That was a moment when Chat’s stomach growled loudly, followed by Ladybug and Bunnix.

“But where will we find the food?” Chat was already looking around.

“And how will we pay for it?” Ladybug looked at Bunnix quizzically.

“Well, any coins made of silver or gold would work almost anywhere in this time period, I doubt any of us have any?” She looked at the other heroes who just shook their heads to confirm.

There was a depressively quiet moment. Everyone looked at everyone else and then at the ground. They were hungry and they wanted to eat, but they also did not want to steal their food and they had no money, nothing to purchase it with.

“Wait!” Ladybug raised her index finger. “We are superheroes, we have powers, we can ….”

“Use our powers for selfish needs to feed ourselves?” Chat inquired.

“Can you call your lucky charm and get us some pizza? Or at least a baguette?” Bunnix mentioned offhandedly.

Peagasus just looked hopeful.

“No, I mean yes, but no! I was thinking of helping out, you know, this is thirteenth century, maybe we could help out, you know, do some work, and get paid in food? Wasn’t that the way it worked back then?” Ladybug faced Bunnix.

“It should work.” Peagasus was the first to try.

“Besides, with powers, we could do anything in no time.” Chat winked towards Bunnix who just sighed and looked away as if she was annoyed.

They ran fast in the direction of the palace, they passed the outer and the inner walls, they did stop to help out many peasants who were taking their fruits to the market or drive away some robbers on the way, but they always gave away the reward to a child or an elderly who looked more hungry than them.

They were going through a park that was filled with many diverse animals, especially different kinds of birds when they saw a man in colourful and expensive clothes who was riding a horse and held a large wild cat that was obviously tamed for him.

“Who are you and why do you roam my park?” The man demanded with an authority of a ruler. He stopped and soon there were several armed men around him who were running after him, ready to protect him from any intruder.

“We are Ladybug, Chat Noir, Bunnix and Peagasus, oh noble Khan.” Chat bowed with a flourish, he did it for his lady so many times, he smirked and winked at her. Ladybug followed suit, then Peagasus and finally Bunnix who was not that happy about it.

“And why are you here? In the woods of the noble Kublai Khan?” One of the men that stood around the Khan demanded as he raised his weapon and aimed at Chat.

“Ask him if he knows about master Shi.” Ladybug mouthed.

“Ask him if he has any food.” Peagasus whispered.

“Ask him for work, a job to do, for us?” Bunnix proposed.

“We were looking four you, oh noble Khan, to be at your service.” Chat replied loudly for everyone to hear. None of the heroes was certain what was it that Chat asked in the end. They just looked at each other quizzically.

“Are you travellers, like that man who calls himself Marco Polo and claims to be from a distant city of Venice and who says he travelled all that distance?” Another man from the guard asked with a strange undertone in his voice.

“We have indeed travelled a great distance too.” Chat acknowledged and looked at the man who posed the question while he quickly repeated what he was taught from history. “But we did not have the honour to meet the man in person.”

“They do look interesting, more interesting than that man, and they are not armed. Let them follow us to the palace, we can give them some work for our entertainment.” The Khan spoke with a mischievous glint in his eyes.

The four heroes were watched all the way to the palace. It was covered in marble on the outside while the insides were gilded wherever there were no other decorations in forms of painted birds, beasts, trees and flowers, which were plenty and carefully crafted.

“Welcome to my humble summer home.” The Khan greeted. “All visitors regard it with delight and astonishment.” He looked at the four heroes and awaited their response, so they did their best to appear delighted and astonished.

“But it has a huge flaw, it is immobile.” Khan coninued to talk once he was satisified with their reaction, he deflated as if he was sad.

Ladybug raised her eyes towards the Khan, her eyes went wide, Chat quietly muttered the translation to make sure they all understood what was being said, and it was Ladybug who was the first one to connect the dots. ‘He wants us to move the palace?’ She whispered.

“I am a man who likes to live on the move, but then again, I prefer to keep the comforts of a place that a man in my position can indulge himself in.” He motioned with his hands all around. Chat whispered the translation as he also felt where this was heading.

“He has another palace.” Bunnix whispered. “It is made of cane, it can be moved easily.”

“This palace is admirable and exquisite indeed.” Chat began with exaggerated praise. “However, it is build from heavy and immobile materials just as you had so wisely observed.” He continued. “We would advise you to have another, more mobile home made of cane.”

Khan laughed. The rest of his entourage opened their eyes widely.

“Better describe it as something fancy.” Ladybug whispered. “It should look like this place.”

“It doesn’t have to be modest in any way.” Chat announced.

Khan listened.

“It should have gilded figurines, actually make it gilded all over.” Ladybug whispered.

Chat repeated what she suggested.

“Make it tall, make it stay on columns.” Peagasus suggested to Chat quietly and Chat repeated to the Khan.

“Make the columns finish with a gilded dragon.” Ladybug observed that was probably the favourite decoration for Khan.

“I think it was tied to the ground not to fly away.” Bunnix pondered.

“And make sure to fasten it to the soil the way your beautiful tents are done.” Chat finished.

Khan made only one swift motion and half of his entourage just disappeared.

“Ask him about master Shi.” Ladybug whispered. “He looks satisfied, he might help us.”

“There is one small piece of information that we dare to ask.” Chat spoke and bowed. “We are looking for a man named master Shi.” He announced. One of the guards stared towards them and Ladybug flinched, they were not supposed to ask the Khan for some plain master.

“The whereabouts of any such person are insignificant to the mighty Kublai Khan.” One of the guards answered.

The four heroes were offered bowls of thick soup to eat with their guards while the Khan decided to make himself comfortable and ready to be entertained by the new arrivals to his palace. They ate it grateful to be able to fill their stomach with some warm cooked food.

“And now, you are going to the park to help build a palace for me.” Khan ordered.

It was lighter and faster than they expected it to be, many parts were there on the spot, and the four heroes erected a light palace made of sticks. Khan observed them and realized they had enhanced powers, he pondered how to keep them to work for him.

Khan issued orders to his men to find craftsmen who will guild and lacquer the cane and the columns as well as varnish the roof while he ceremoniously sought the heroes to stay for more food, beer and wine with an intention to keep such useful help as his servants.

It was getting dark, a number of guards sat with the heroes around a fire and they distributed bowls of dense soup and porridge between them. The guards offered for the heroes to drink something from the same large cup everyone was drinking from, but they politely passed it on.

It was getting really late in the evening, and the heroes still did not find master Shi nor any lead that would lead them to him. They quietly discussed if this was even the right time or place to find him as none of the guards around them ever heard of such a person.

“Bunnix, you will have to detransform and we will talk to Fluff. If your kwami can’t help us, I will try with Tikki. We must have missed an important clue somewhere.” Ladybug whispered to Bunnix and both of them looked around for a secluded place.

The guards started to doze off, it was getting really late. And the four heroes quietly sneaked away in a directions where they were able to find some privacy.

“I know her identity, Peagasus, please stay on this side of the tree, while Bunnix and me go to the other side to talk to her kwami.” Ladybug whispered.

“Don’t worry, it is just the identities stuff, we’ll be able to participate in the conversation from here, we’ll know everything there is to know.” Chat patted Peagasus on his shoulder.

Peagasus was rather certain that Chat knew the civilian identity of Bunnix too, but he just slumped down and sat on the ground with his back on the tree trunk and Chat joined him by his side.

Bunnix and Ladybug took the few steps to the other side of a wide and thick tree before Bunnix released her transformation and Fluff appeared. It was dark, but there were fires all around where the other guards had their supper and were either getting ready for the night or already asleep on the grass, the night was warm, it was summer time.

“Fluff, we need your help to find master Shi.” Ladybug spoke quickly. “But we can’t find him.”

“We are in Xanadu and it is probably year 1275.” Alix tried to clarify while Fluff nibbled on his carrot.

“A kwami never reveals the identity of his wielder.” Fluff continued to nibble.

Alix rolled her eyes, looked away and then took a bite of one carrot dejectedly. Ladybug groaned and clenched her fists.

“This means Tikki will not help us either.” She concluded. It was possible to hear Chat as he deflated disappointedly, Peagasus simply slumped down even lower on the trunk of the tree.

“But can you tell us if we are at least at the right place and time?” Alix knew what to ask.

“It is always the right time.” Fluff replied and hopped around before he continued to nibble on the carrot.

“It is always the right time.” Another Fluff echoed and floated directly into Alix face. The pink haired girl simply offered another carrot and observed the other rabbit as if nothing particular just happened. Then she reached for the other watch in her pocket, the one that wasn’t working.

Ladybug’s eyes went wide with surprise. There were two Fluffs. That meant there were two time travellers at the same place and time. However that was Alix, and as akuma she accomplished that there were two Ladybugs, two of her so it was possible, probably, well she was looking at it.

“Why do you need me?” Another voice asked from a shadow. Alix and Ladybug turned in the direction of the voice. Peagasus raised his head but did not dare to turn around, Chat was already on his feet, ready to act and his night vision enabled him to see the imposter clearly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Would Alix be cheating if she studied archaeology, hmmmmm


	53. Night Talk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Meeting with the owner of the mysterious voice from the dark

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 'Time' for a new chapter

Talk time

“Why do you need me?” The same voice repeated. It sounded young and strong from pitch black darkness void unlit by any of the campfires around them. The intruder must have sneaked through the darkness the whole way and waited for them.

Ladybug stiffened, because suddenly there was someone in the dark, a person she wasn’t able to see clearly, but whoever they were, they possibly saw Bunnix detransform into Alix, they overheard the conversation and they knew too much already. She observed the two rabbits who floated carelessly around each other and nibbled on carrots, a sense of relief was soon dispersed when she saw that Alix brought the second watch with her.

Alix wasn’t impressed, there wasn’t much left to impress her, really, she was in an ancient city, one that did not even leave ruins behind as the remains of stone and marble were scavenged and reused in other places build around over the centuries. And there were two Fluffs nibbling on carrots.

Peagasus remained seated, although his whole body was tense and alert, ready to react, ready to jump and do something, anything, he only needed a hint from any of the heroes. Logic was telling him that this was the person they were looking for, but he seldom met logic on his journey to that point in space and time.

Chat Noir was the only one of the four of them who saw the person clearly, and he knew she did not sneak up to them, he would have heard her, she was already there, in the dark, an unlit spot between the fires, a young woman with long dark hair that flowed to her waist unitied.

“Why do you need me.” The she repeated quietly and calmly. She made no move to come closer, her eyes flicked from one hero to another, she was able to see the girls faces in the light of small fires around them.

Ladybug and Alix were actually far more easily distinguished from the dark background than Peagasus and Chat Noir on the other side of the tree although the fire on their side was much closer. The woman was able to see that heroes were alarmed by her presence.

Ladybug was cautious, on one side, they were four heroes, well one was detransformed at the moment, but they could easily run away or attack the owner of that voice, something had to be done, they were careless because that person already knew too many secrets..

On the other hand, this person asked if they were looking for them, for that person, and that meant that that person was master Shi, and in that case they should not run away nor attack, but what if they were not alone … then the wheels turned and she realized what was odd.

“Why do you speak French?” Ladybug countered. She straightened up and looked into the darkness determinedly, approximately in the direction that the voice came from, and she missed the spot by a few metres, but who knew, besides the person her eyes were searching.

“I learned a few words from a friend of mine.” Was the answer from the darkness, spoken with so much clarity and certainty that it was obvious those were not merely a few words. But the answer was sufficient for that moment.

Alix held out another baby carrot, then she split it in two and observed the two tiny rabbits who floated to the palm of her hand and took a piece each. She did not need more information, whoever was there in the dark was a wielder just like her and that was enough for her.

“We are looking for master Shi, for a teacher for A … “ Ladybug looked at Alix and stopped at the last moment not to reveal the identity to the only person there who still did not know it. “ for the wielder of the rabbit miraculous.” She added, keeping identities hidden was really silly, but it was her job.

“They are okay master.” Both Fluffs spoke in unison and floated away into the darkness. Alix instantly went after her kwami. Ladybug grabbed her yoyo on instinct, but then she realized she can’t catch a kwami with it, Fluff would simply phase through, so she walked after Alix.

Chat saw it before it happened. Alix somehow hopped over it in the darkness, but Ladybug did not see the small branch on the ground, she tripped and fell on her face. He was by her side in a moment and helped her up. The whole move was quiet, and he was dressed in dark suit, unseen by the intruder, but then he started to laugh and gave himself away.

“Sorry Bug, could not prevent that.” He snickered. “Peagasus, stay where you are, be there in a minute.” He glanced back to make sure that the other hero wasn’t looking their way. He heard Peagasus sigh and slump his back onto the tree trunk.

“Hello, we are Ladybug and Chat Noir, and we are the guardians of the miraculous.” Chat directed his greeting towards the young woman who looked startled by his sudden appearance as much as she was amused by the scene. Alix stood nearby unsure where to go in the dark.

“What happened to master Juli?” The voice from the darkness inquired, but the tone wasn’t demanding although she tried to act that way. Chat noticed she was smiling and looked slightly to the side. She probably wasn’t able to see them clearly either.

“He is fine, he directed us to go here.” Chat tried to sound cocky and confident, he smirked and tilted his head. His tail swished around and wrapped around Ladybugs leg. She nudged him with her elbow and his tail unwrapped.

“So you are both guardians, hm?” The young woman inquired knowingly. Then Chat remembered that if this woman was educated in the temple, if she passed the training, then she knew what that meant, and he blushed. He noticed that Ladybug was rather pink in the face too.

“Yes, we are both guardians.” Ladybug pushed the words out. “And this is A… uhm … “ She wasn’t able to pronounce the name, Peagasus was too close. “A wielder of the rabbit miraculous that we want you to train.”

“Did you put them up to this?” The young woman looked at Fluff lovingly and spoke affectionately. “You must have been really bored in that box, weren’t you? You got curious and wanted to see the outside world, weren’t you?”

“Master, I haven’t been out for years and years.” Fluff replied and looked down towards the ground. “There was a guardian who was scared to put any of us out ...” The tiny took a short pause.

“As he should have been, obviously.” Ladybug muttered to herself. She was feeling uncertain about the whole thing.

“Then we got a new guardian who would play with us kwami and listen to us.” Fluff floated towards Ladybug while he spoke. The doubt she had in herself only grew, what if the kwami only took her on this journey because they were bored, Tikki wasn’t like that, but other kwami?

“Obviously I shouldn’t have.” Ladybug cut in.

“Don’t be like that Bug, they told you that we should go to China in the first place, didn’t they?” Chat had to do something to reassure her.

“Nooroo and Duusu were gone for a long time.” The tiny rabbit stressed the word long, but that was a rather undefined value for a time travelling kwami. “And then they returned, and we got one more guardian … but I did not get my wielder.”

“And then the guardians told me how they met one of my wielders when she arrived from the future and they knew her identity and then I just … “ Fluff finally stopped the ramble about everything that happened.

“Then you just wanted to meet her as soon as possible, didn’t you?” The woman chided gently. Ladybug deflated, she felt like she was doing a poor job as a guardian, she was persuaded to give a miraculous to Alix too early, and by her kwami, and she was supposed to be a guardian.

“The Bunnix from the future did say that she got a miraculous when she was much taller.” Ladybug admitted and then took in a sloe deep breath not to spiral into panic. “I guess we should return in a few years.”

Two floating rabbits and one woman started to laugh instantaneously, Chat followed suit, then Alix and then Ladybug, as if that made a difference if it was 1275 or 1278, they needed to grow up, and then, probably, to return to the same time and place.

“In a few years, you say?” Chat replied teasingly and grinned.

“I meant when A … she grows up!” Ladybug stumbled out. Alix quickly turned towards the heroes and frowned. Chat was able to see it, but Ladybug was able to feel it. “I mean, when she becomes taller, just like she said, I mean, the older her ...” She trailed off and groaned.

“The future isn’t set in stone.” Two Fluffs echoed each other and then one of them floated away towards the pink haired girl. Alix rubbed her eyes and tried to catch a glimpse of Fluff in the darkness.

“Sometimes the actions we do change the future, and sometimes there is nothing we can do to stop it from going the way it does.” The woman spoke solemnly. Two heroes, one girl and two kwami nodded to acknowledge that they understood.

“So it is okay if we had given A .. her the miraculous now?” Ladybug inquired.

“It is fine, as long as it was given on _time_.” Chat grinned. Ladybug hit him with her elbow. He saw that the young woman rolled her eyes.

“It is not the _time_ for your puns.” Ladybug scolded quietly.

“Hey, you did it too! Not fair!” He laughed.

“Technically, you _will_ give it to me.” Alix cut in.

“Not you too!” Ladybug shook her head and whispered to herself while Chat laughed. This was no time for jokes, she messed up, big time, and she wanted to fix it, if she only knew how, tempted to launch her lucky charm, but certain that it would be just one more watch, just red with black spots.

“I guess we got here a bit _early_.” Chat wasn’t deterred. It was his way of coping with stress. Ladybug knew it, and right then she was worried that they messed up something, big time, so as lame as they were, the puns were a distraction.

“I’d say it is pretty _late_.” She bounced back.

Ladybug and Chat Noir continued their time related banter while both Alix and the woman just stood there and listened without any attempt to join in. They both tried to look at each other, but it was too dark to recognize any features.

“Tell me, from which time are you.” The young woman demanded quietly.

“More than seven hundred years from now.” Alix replied bluntly, “We are from the future, very far future.” She stated simply.

“Seven hundred, you say?” The woman sounded amused. “Very far future, you say.” She grinned. “Well, that only means you consider this very far in the past.” She shrugged with a wide smile with no intention to correct them nor reveal any information about their future that she knew.

“Well, because it is?” Alix wasn’t so sure any more.

The two heroes finally stopped their banter and started to listen. Chat was tempted to announce himself as a guardian again, but more solemnly, with more authority, and order this woman to train Alix, he saw the way Khan treated his men, it was the way people communicated back then.

“Are you master Shi? Are you going to train … the new wielder?” Ladybug asked bluntly. She demanded to know who this person was, she almost forgot aobut her during the banter with Chat, but it became clear to her that she had to resolve that.

“There is a place where they call me master Shi.” The young woman spoke calmly. She kept quiet after that and allowed for the others to process what she just said. What she did with her life was not that rare, but it wasn’t a familiar practice, because everyone kept quiet about it.

“Can you prove it?” Ladybug demanded. Alix was the one to sigh, to her the fact that this woman was accompanied by a time travelling kwami was sufficient. However, she understood that a guardian perhaps wanted or needed more than that.

“I mean.” Ladybug flailed her hands, it was frustrating to talk to someone whom you can not see, but she understood why they met that way. “We see that you have Fluff, too, how do we know you are master Shi and not one of his pupils?”

“I am the one you’re looking for.” Master Shi replied firmly and crossed her arms.

“But you … you are a girl .. a woman … shouldn’t you be … a mistress or something?” Chat popped the question that was on everyone else’s mind as the voice they heard was clearly not from a man, especially not an old one they imagined they were looking for.

“I may have pretended to be a boy for a while.” She replied with a playful smirk. “I might be pretending to be a man in the guard of the mighty Kublai Khan on occasion, or anyone else I need to be. Sometimes a rabbit has to hide.”

“Very well, it is just, we … um … expected … ” Ladybug inquired and did her best to sound confident.

“You expected master Shi to be an old man in the temple and have a school of wielders of the time travelling heroes?” Master Shi asked without a trace of offence in her voice, she was teasing.

“I assumed you were a student sent for us because you are a wielder. I’m sorry.” Ladybug was quick to apologize.

“Yes I am, but I do not hop from time to time irresponsibly, it could cause a great disturbance, time travel is the weapon of the last resort.” She stated clearly and it sounded as if she was taking a critical look at their whole mission.

“Master Shi, I know I will wield the rabbit miraculous, I met myself from the future once.” Alix explained. “And I’m sorry I used my powers, but it was absolutely needed for me to reach you.” She continued determinedly.

“You met yourself from the future, hm?” Master Shi replied with a smirk.

“Yes, we met her too, from the future I mean.” Ladybug explained.

“Technically, we are all from the future now.” Chat teased.

“Stop it.” Ladybug whispered.

“Yes, they met me, the civilian me and me from the future, because I had a message for them, it was stored in … my miraculous? ... and we exchanged miraculous. I mean me and the future me, because hers wasn’t working … “ Alix trailed off.

“You had a message for them stored in your miraculous?” The woman repeated. “And you exchanged it with your future self?” She stated calmly and waited for confirmation that was hummed by all three teenagers.

“The big me was stored in one of the Egyptian artefacts in the Louvre, I was supposed to lead the heroes to the artefact using the riddle that was stored in my … miraculous.” Alix continued to explain. “They were fighting a time travelling akuma from the future.”

“oh.” Was all master Shi replied, but she was deep in thought. This was far more serious than she thought in the first place. An akuma from the future, and yet Fluff said that the abuse of Nooroo has ended. She had to examine this further.

Then, this wielder met herself from the future, these guardians met her too, that was why they knew. She had no idea why they came looking for her, she had met people from further in the future as well as from the ancient past, but this was different.

“I am not a teacher.” Master Shi admitted. Those words sent jolts through all three teenagers. They were looking for a teacher, not another wielder. Ladybug thought how she should have known better than to go blindly into the past, Chat thought how they could have trained Alix themselves.

“But I am master Shi you are looking for. They refer to me as a master in the temple because I have become a permanent wielder of a miraculous. They have given me that name when I joined the temple.” The young woman described.

“Can you help us?” Ladybug asked firmly, it was becoming clear, they started early and arrived early, this woman wasn’t a teacher, at least not yet, but that did not mean she wasn’t able to help them.

“A person chosen to wield the rabbit miraculous … it is not really the guardians who decide, it is up to the miraculous, it is up to the kwami, to Fluff, if you are not ready, if it is too early, then nothing happens, this ...” She pointed to her own watch. “It is just a watch.”

Only Chat looked at the watch and saw her gesture, but both Alix and Ladybug understood what she wanted to say. Alix replayed the events in her head, her father gave her the watch, then there was a hologram, but there was no kwami when she took it in her hands.

“This is starting to make sense.” Alix exclaimed. Chat grinned, he remembered Alix and her watch and the day she got akumatized (and two Ladybugs), but he also remembered the hologram and the riddle, he agreed, this was starting to make sense.

“But if you are not a teacher … “ Ladybug was unsure what to do, go back, and really, return a few years later, in every sense of that word that was applicable, or maybe they were supposed to start just then or maybe …

“Yet.” Master Shi exclaimed. “I am not a teacher yet. You were brought to me for a reason.” This was different than any other assignment she had so far, it was always a problem she saw in her burrow, but these teenagers, they came to her on their own.

“What reason?” Chat repeated in a whisper to Ladybug, everything sounded so serious, but then he remembered. “To train Bunnix, right.” He corrected himself. Yes, education was important, he was taking his superhero activities as fun, but this woman was taking it seriously just like his Bug.

“No.” Ladybug whispered back. “Bunnix is a weapon of the last resort. She … this woman is a weapon of the last resort too. This is something else.” She felt cold shivers go down her spine, this was like a calm before the storm, as if there was an akuma looming somewhere.

“How do I become cool and awesome as future me?” Alix beamed, her eyes glowed in the dark. “Or as you?” She added as she looked towards the woman, shoe thought she was able to see her. “I promise I will listen and not just create random portals.”

“First things first, why don’t we have a talk so that I know why you are here in the first place?” Master Shi asked cheerfully.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cut at a random point ...   
> The rest of a conversation is even a bigger mess.


	54. Tell Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They sit and talk (sorry not much action) and reach some daunting conclusions.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Master Shi also has a hero name :)

54 Tell me

“But we just told her?” Ladybug whispered to Chat Noir. She replayed the whole conversation in her head. “We clearly and literally asked her to train Bunnix, didn’t we?” She continued whispering as she thought out loud.

“Yeah, Bug, and she told us she is not a teacher yet.” Chat whispered back. Then he noticed her worried face. She was blind in the dark, everyone was but him, and possibly the two rabbit kwami. “I’m sure our coming here has a purpose, don’t worry Bug, you’ll figure it out!”

“Master Shi?” Alix began to speak. She knew what she wanted, she wanted to become a hero. “What do you need to know? We are not really here to tell you about the future aren’t we?” Because Alix knew quite a lot about the past and the future.

Master Shi whispered her transformation words. A bright light blue light flashed between the trees. They were able to see her suit, the same clothes that she was wearing as one of the Khan’s guards, now changed colour into different shades of blue. Her long dark hair got tied in twin pony tails with long bunny ears sticking right next to them.

“Please call me Tuzi, that is the hero name I have chosen for myself, because that was the way everyone called me when I was little, I was so fast.” Tuzi answered and smiled. “And no, you are not supposed to tell me anything about my future, but I need to understand why are you here.”

“Okay Tuzi.” Alix confirmed. She knew there was so much to tell, so many things have happened, to the city where they just stayed as well as in the rest of the world. But Alix also knew to say nothing when it was needed, and this was such an occasion.

“I don’t like the title master, there are too many people who like to be called that for all the wrong reasons. Now, why don’t you transform too and we can find a nice quiet place to sit down so you tell me how you met yourself?” She continued quietly.

Alix whispered her own transformation words and one flash of bright light blue light, there was another girl in a rabbit suit standing between the trees. Ladybug looked around and searched for a place where they would all go, but Chat squeezed her hand to signal her to stay.

“Peagasus is snoring.” Chat Noir cut in. “He is not able to hear us now, he is in deep sleep.” He added and yawned. “I wouldn’t mind to snuggle up with my Bug over here.” He added and smirked when he saw that Ladybug had blushed.

“It is not a nap time for us, Chat!” Ladybug warned him and nudged him with her elbow. “We are here on an important mission.” She straightened up and pretended she wasn’t affected. “Bunnix, why don’t you start?” The hero directed her words to Alix.

“I got a watch for my fifteenth birthday.” Bunnix spoke after everyone sat down. “It produced a hologram. That is like … a special kind of light, like a fire but in a form of a picture … “ She wasn’t sure how to explain that to someone from the late middle ages.

“It is fine, I understand.” Tuzi replied calmly, she sounded as if she had heard of a hologram before. “Please go on.” She did not intend to ask too much about the future, just the personal account of this particular wielder of the rabbit miraculous.

“My watch broke on the same day because of the stupid race that I actually won and I got akumatized into a time traveller I … don’t remember exactly everything that had happened but when Ladybug restored everything, my watch was fixed.” Bunnix frowned.

“Yeah, that was a tough fight.” Ladybug remembered quietly. “The akuma absorbed energy from Chat Noir to go to the past and he had disappeared.” It still send shivers down her spine, and now she knew that Chat was Adrien, who sat by her side, she held his hand.

“I remember two Ladybugs from that fight.” Chat grinned and squeezed her hand. That made Ladybug chuckle, of course that was what he remembered, that was one of his favourite memories from akuma battles. “You wanted to go to the past to get your watch fixed.”

“You were akumatized?” Tuzi frowned. “You were an akuma? A bad one? And Ladybug and Chat Noir had to fight you? And they won. And there were two Ladybugs probably because one of them went back in time together with you.”

“Yeah.” Bunnix replied. “There was a man, a villain, he called himself Hawk Moth and he akumatized people, but he was defeated by his own son and Marinette, they took the butterfly pin, and the peacock brooch from Mayura, in the temple, in Tibet.”

“So there was no villain any more when you left your future?” Tuzi pondered. “Were you the only akuma who was able to travel in time?” To the two heroes, it sounded like her question had some hidden meaning beneath it, like she was telling more than she was asking for.

“Yeah.” Bunnix confirmed. “Actually no, there was that other one, that arrived from the future, he was able to send people into the past. That is when I learned that I am going to become Bunnix, when I met the older me.”

Ladybug opened her mouth to protest, to add a few more akuma that were able to make people go backwards and other stuff that involved time, but Chat squeezed her hand and they both remained quiet, this was time for Bunnix to talk.

“Tell me then, about how you met yourself from the future.” Tuzi directed. “That is a rather peculiar instance, and a really dangerous one, as you revealed your identity to your younger self and the two other heroes.” The voice sounded like a warning.

“The watch, it activated, there was a hologram, a riddle, I was expected to find Ladybug and Chat Noir and pass them the message. Then they found the grown up me, transformed, hidden in a stone.” That was far easier to state it than to mention a museum and an Egyptian artefact.

“So the watch contained a message. For Ladybug. That you recorded for yourself? And you were expected to participate in the battle? Both the hero you and the civilian you.” Alix confirmed each question. “Go on.” Tuzi encouraged.

“There was an akuma, a time travelling akuma, he came from the future, he had power to send people to the past, and he sent himself from the future to the past to try and defeat young Ladybug and Chat Noir.” Alix continued to explain. “He also sent me, the adult me, to ancient Egypt.”

Tuzi hummed she was able to follow the tale easily. She obviously had no issues with concepts of time travel and multiple instances of the same person at the same spot, in fact, the story probably made more sense to her than to Bunnix.

“And the future Chat Noir had damaged the clock the grown up me had, so I had to give her my own and she gave me hers.” Bunnix continued. “Then little Ladybug and Chat Noir defeated the akuma and the adult me created a portal and brought the civilian home. I mean, his time.”

“So the adult you and the akumatized person left, and by the end of that akuma battle you had another watch.” Tuzi summarized. “And the future you had the watch you had previously, the one with the message.”

“Yes! But, the watch I was left with, it wasn’t working, there was no hologram at all, it only showed the time and … and it did not release Fluff when I took it like the miraculous Ladybug gave me … last night?” Bunnix frowned.

“So the miraculous wasn’t fixed when little Ladybug launched her miraculous cure?” Tuzi inquired. She knew the answer already, the other three were to reach the same answer on their own, that was the way the teaching was done, they were expected to learn how to think, not only the facts.

“No … but it was Chat Noir from the future who damaged it.” Bunnix replied. “Perhaps that other Ladybug, the adult one, should have fixed it, but the mini Bug did fix everything that Timetagger did in the L… in our time.”

“Right.” Tuzi concluded. “And you got another watch from Ladybug, I mean, one of the guardians, last night, and then you were able to see Fluff?”

“Yeah, and Fluff just popped out from that one.” Alix confirmed. “But my first watch, it also turned blue when big me, I mean, the adult me, took it in her hand. And she needed it, because she said that the one she had was damaged, by a cataclysm from Chat Noir.”

Chat felt rather guilty for the cataclysm he did not make yet. He huffed quietly and hunched his shoulders and Ladybug squeezed his hand to make him feel better. She had other issues on her mich, but this wasn’t the time to discuss them, not with Bunnix and Tuzi present.

“Okay, and there was an akuma, that arrived from the future, when you were an adult?” Tuzi asked.

“Yeah, I was like … much taller than I am now.” Alix raised her hand to try to illustrate just how tall the adult Alix was.

“But Hawk Moth who used to create akumas was caught before you were even given the miraculous … “ Tuzi trailed off. Either the story wasn’t making much sense, or everything was setting into place, but the idea she had wasn’t for her to speak out.

There was a moment of silence. Tuzi let the three other superheroes take their time. She was not a teacher, but she knew that it had to be something they had conclude on their own for as much time as it took for them to reach their own conclusion. It did not take that long.

Ladybug knew the answer, deep in her mind, but she refused to accept it. Chat knew it right away, but dismissed it as if it was another crazy idea of his, he wasn’t that cruel to say it out loud and make his lady sad, she’s been through enough with him already.

“That means that there will be a new Hawk Moth!” Bunnix exclaimed quietly, she was so excited but she remembered to keep it down. “But Ladybug and Chat Noir said that they got the butterfly miraculous back and it is stored safely.”

Chat let his head drop to his chest as he deflated. Ladybug huffed and looked to the sky annoyed about the future and destiny and stuff, but then she wrapped her arm around Chats back and pulled him closer, they held each other like that and braced themselves to be ready to hear the rest.

“Temporarily.” Tuzi replied. She was in deep thought. Everything that Alix had said sent cold shivers down Ladybugs spine, while Chat Noir wanted to jump on his feet and fight. That implied they were going to lose the miraculous, they felt incompetent already.

Ladybug felt like she should have known, they have already fought an akuma from the future, of course they should have known, they changed that future, or not, and she had no idea to tell what was about to happen, and they were sitting right next to Bunnix, and Tuzi, something was wrong.

“So they will loose it?” Bunnix voiced the daunting fact and sent another set of shivers down everyone’s spines. It wasn’t a pleasant prospect, but it was obvious. There was no other way to have a time travelling akuma to fight with than to have another Hawk Moth in the future.

Chat replayed the events in his head, his father was under the mask as he appeared to the world when the pin was taken, but everything changed so much earlier than that, it changed when him and Marinette decided to go to China, everything else was just a consequence.

“The future is not set in stone.” Tuzi cut in. Although their conversation was held in the dark, she felt how the two heroes tensed, and she wanted to keep the mood light, that was the only way to reach the truth, if one wasn’t rejecting the facts.

“Right.” Bunnix felt for her watch, the one she got in exchange, that was now sitting idly in her pocket, and then for the other watch, the one that gave her Fluff and then she smiled, at least that part of the future did not change yet, she was a miraculous wielder, at least temporarily.

“A tree has to die to make room for another tree.” Tuzi spoke solemnly, but the sigh she got in return wasn’t really the one of reassurance nor acceptance. “Sometimes, things look bad when they happen, but they are necessary for something good to happen from it.”

“You still have your watch.” Ladybug spoke to Bunnix and got affirmative hum in return. She knew that the present sometimes changes when you change something in the past, so if Alix still had her watch, that meant that part wasn’t changed, at least not yet.

“Yes, I have it, right here!” Bunnix stressed her words and patted her suit on a lever where one would usually find pockets on pants.

Chat shifted slightly in his place. He felt so happy when he was given to share the duty of the guardian with Ladybug, especially since it meant they were together, but now he realized they were bound to make mistakes, and it was much easier to forgive Ladybug than himself.

“You have two watches now?” The young woman asked next. “That happens if a time traveller travels back in time, just like you and me both have watches, but if you have two … that means a time traveller lost one.”

“Yes, but this one is different. The one I had before, that one had … there was a blue light coming out of it, even on my birthday, there was a hologram that appeared from it, it just did not speak, it did not direct me to do anything that day.” Alix explained.

“Fluff was in the miracle box.” Ladybug cut in. “I used all the available miraculous once, I needed all the kwami, to defeat Kwamibuster, one particularly nasty akuma, so I wielded them all, but I did not transform into a rabbit hero, I just needed Fluff.”

“And we talked to Fluff and … and Bunnix, the adult one, she came from the future once, to pick us up, to deal with something … “ Chat trailed off. “Anyway, that timeline is probably removed from existence … I hope.” He added in the end. It looked like some parts were inevitable.

“Um … yeah?” Bunnix wasn’t so sure about anything any more. Yeah, she knew she was going to be a hero that enabled time travel, but she had no idea that that implied that the two heroes and guardians by her side were expected to make considerable mistakes.

“But if you giving me the miraculous also means that you have to lose butterfly miraculous and that there will be one more Hawk Moth … or the old one … I don’t want that for my friends, Adrien and Marinette go to my class you know?” Bunnix explained.

“It is not that simple.” Tuzi muttered and looked away. She hated to be the bearer of bad news, and she often was, she was the weapon of the last resort, she was called in when everything else was bound to fail, her powers were needed because there was nothing else to do.

“It was Fluff and Bunnix who told us to give the miraculous to you.” Ladybug spoke to Bunnix encouragingly. Suddenly she hoped that that part of the future had changed too, perhaps Chris wasn’t going to become Timetagger, but there was still need for Bunnix.

“That means you are supposed to become a hero.” Chat exclaimed with a cheeky grin. “Come on, we will have so much fun, you will find us all sorts of trouble to sort out from any point in history.” And he knew that she knew history. His enthusiasm was contagious.

“Just this watch wasn’t working.” Bunnix patted her pocket again and grinned. She wanted to be a part of the team of Parisian heroes so much, and when Hawk Moth was defeated, although she was happy about it, she also felt as if she had missed her chance.

“But why haven’t I fixed that watch when I launched the miraculous cure after we defeated the Timetagger?” Ladybug pondered. There were too many unknowns about her powers, things she did not understand, and Tikki seldom had concrete answers, as if the goddess wasn’t aware of the full extend of her powers either.

“It got destroyed in the future? Maybe it will get fixed once the future you launches her miracle cure?” Chat wondered. “Maybe it was because it was the adult me who destroyed it?” He grinned teasingly, his eyes practically glowed with mischief in the dark.

“Nope, I fixed multiple time lines before, I probably fixed the future too.” Ladybug replied and poked him just to make him stop turning everything into a joke. “But that means, the future me did not need to launch the miracle cure … “

“You mentioned how the watch got fixed although it was broken before you got akumatized?” Tuzi was having an idea. “Perhaps your cure did fix the watch, but sometimes it works strange ways across timelines, it got fixed when it needed to be, not when you wanted it.”

“Oh.” Was the most eloquent reply that the young woman got from all three of the teenagers with whom she was speaking. It was starting to make sense, or not, because now they knew that they never knew how the cure would work across time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And action?  
> What action, where action?


	55. Repairing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A broken miraculous can be fixed, right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> About the names:  
> 'Shi' was chosen because it is/was rather common.  
> A name for a rabbit hero is 'Tuzi' since that is a literal translation for a rabbit into Chinese.

55 Repairing

Bunnix fiddled with her light blue miraculous, with the watch she was given by Ladybug, she flipped it around in her hand and switched it from one hand to another, it was a miraculous, and she was a hero, and she got it from Ladybug, but still … she wanted the watch she already had to be the one.

“That other watch I have, the other miraculous, it is broken.” Bunnix stated bluntly the fact that everyone already knew. Her voice revealed her frustration. And everybody else present felt it along with her. “Whoever needs it at any time will not have much use from it.”

“We can fix that miraculous.” Chat was the first one to speak. “There were instructions in ...” He trailed off and looked towards Ladybug. There were instructions in the book where all the secrets of the miraculous were described, or at least some of them.

“Yeah, We can.” Ladybug confirmed. “A broken miraculous can be fixed, even if it got damaged by a cataclysm. We just need …. um?” She looked back towards Chat. They needed a book with instructions because there was no way for her to try for that from her memory.

“You just need the watch?” Bunnix asked the logical question. She reached into her pocket and extracted the second watch. It’s silver surface reflected the light from the surrounding fires. She let it hang from her hand while she outstretched her arm towards Ladybug and Chat Noir.

“Excellent.” Tuzi exclaimed. “Here we have Ladybug and Chat Noir, they know what to do, they are the guardians of the miraculous. That miraculous can be fixed in no time.” She laughed at her own joke, Chat and Bunnix laughed along with her, Ladybug wasn’t laughing, she panicked.

“It can really be fixed? Cool.” Bunnix stated while she kept her hand outstretched and waited for any of the heroes to actually take that watch. Ladybug stalled the procedure, her brain was going through everything she had read about fixing the miraculous, but she had little faith in her memory.

“Yes, we are the best watch fixers in the world!” Chat grinned. “Aren’t we My Lady?” He nudged Ladybug with his elbow. “Especially the magic watches that give you superpowers.” He laughed lightly and reached for the watch.

“Yes!” Ladybug sounded as if she was surprised by her own reaction. “We can fix it … just … not right now, we have to … um?” She looked at Chat and her hands flailed aimlessly in the air. “We need to get some ingredients, right, it will take some time and … “ She trailed off.

“Of course.” Tuzi replied. “Take your time.” She laughed again along with Bunnix and Chat. Ladybug forced herself to laugh too, but it was loud and rather obviously forced.

“I’m glad you did not force yourself to laugh at my puns My Lady.” Chat muttered quietly.

“Ladybug? And Chat Noir?” She looked towards the two heroes in the darkness. “I would like a little chat with your candidate, one on one. Why don’t you two go and fix that miraculous while Bunnix and me have a little talk?” Master Shi proposed.

“A … are you okay with that?” Ladybug directed the question to Bunnix, clumsily.

“Yep.” Bunnix replied instantly.

“Well, watch where you’re going.” Chat teased with a smirk, but he already looked behind Tuzi and Bunnix and saw that the path was clear for considerable distance. Then he took Ladybug’s hand to lead her back to the tree.

“Don’t worry, we’ll be back in no time.” Tuzi shot back and everyone smiled. “Now, let’s go.” She patted Bunnix and the two of them carefully stepped into the darkness, the two floating rabbits directed them with tiny nudges.

Chat was able to see both of them in the distance, but not to hear them clearly any more.

“What were you thinking? I need the Book of Lore for this?” Ladybug whisper shouted at Chat while they were walking away. “I can’t do this from memory. I think we need a happy tear and a sad tear and dry it in fire but we need to do something first.”

“Don’t stress yourself about this, My Lady. That is what you have me for. We are sharing the duty of the guardian, remember?” He grinned again. “We need a token of luck to remove the bad luck I induced with my cataclysm.”

“A token of luck?” Ladybug trailed off. She was deep in thought. She stared at the watch in her hand and tried to remember any token of good luck that she possibly was able to remember, a lucky charm Adrien made for her, a lucky charm she gave to him…

“Bug?” Chat poked her. “How can you possibly know that those pearls that are mentioned in the book are tears of sadness and happiness, but you don’t know what a token of good luck is?” He grinned and waited for her to remember, he enjoyed that he understood it far too much.

“I don’t ...” Ladybug trailed off, she narrowed her eyes and looked around. There was one fire still burning in flames and everyone around it was fast asleep. It looked like a good place to start. Then she reached for her yoyo.

“Come on Bug!” Chat whined when she opened the yoyo and searched inside. “I thought you got it once I saw you thinking and planning.” He laughed. His eyes went wide as he watched in disbelief what she was doing and followed her around.

“We have the grain of salt right there.” She pointed towards the supplies of the guards. “We only need one grain.” She stressed. “And the soul of the earth is right underneath our feet.” She added. “But the only thing we need now is ...” She searched in her yoyo.

“Your Lucky Charm?” Chat filled in teasingly. He leaned in and wiggled with his eyebrows, his crooked smirk revealed his white teeth while his green eyes practically glowed in the dark with mischief. Ladybug facepalmed. Chat laughed.

“Lucky Charm.” She called and threw her yoyo in the air. She got back a spice mill grinder, red with black spots. She looked at it, surprised, again, but soon everything had made sense. She collected the dust and the salt and leaves and put them into the grinder.

“Okay, so we dusted the watch with the ingredients.” Ladybug sighed. “And we have a happy tear thanks to you teasing me.” She added as she collected a tear from Chat’s face, he wasn’t even aware that he shed tears, he was laughing so hard.

“We still need a sad tear.” Chat added thoughtfully. He looked around, everyone was asleep, no nightmares, no loneliness, nobody cried after their home, or after their loved ones or for whatever reason people cried in the middle of the night.

“We can’t do it without all the ingredients and my time is running out.” Ladybug noted while her earrings were beeping their last minute warning. The other warnings sounded while she collected the ingredients and the tear.

“Well, you did spray the magic dust on the watch and you do not need the spice mill grinder any more.” Chat suggested. “We can finish this whenever we get the last ingredient.” He concluded and awaited her response.

“You’re right.” She shrugged and threw the spice mill grinder in the air. “Miraculous Ladybug!” She called and a swarm of Ladybugs washed over the watch before they disappeared. “I dare say it worked so far.” She smiled at the watch, still covered in dust and that single drop.

The next moment a pink light covered Ladybug and her red suit with black dots disappeared. Right there by the fire was Marinette in her pyjama. She caught exhausted Tikki in her hands and reached for a macaron that was stored in her purse.

Chat smiled while he observed the two of them and their quiet exchange. Tikki munched on her macaron and Marinette patted her kwami and smiled. He imagined how the two of them did exactly that after each of the akuma battles they have been through.

“Take your time.” Marinette whispered quietly to Tikki. “I don’t know for how long will I have to stay transformed the next time. Right now we need another ingredient to fix this miraculous.” She sighed and looked at her kwami. “But you are not supposed to know what it is so you can’t help.”

“I’m sorry that I can’t help you then.” Tikki responded with a sigh and munched on her macaron really slowly, perhaps intentionally. Chat was holding the watch on the palm of his hand and laughed softly, sometimes Tikki pouted the same way Plagg did.

“Kwami can’t know all the secrets of the miraculous. We are fixing a miraculous now.” Marinette smiled gently and observed Tikki who took another bite from the macaron and chewed on it slowly.

“But I know that you needed my lucky charm.” Tikki teased before she took one more bite from the macaron.

“Uh oh!” Both Marinette and Chat Noir pronounced at the same time and looked at each other in panic.

“And Plagg knows what I say or do while transformed, he even knew what I did when I got hit by the arrow from that akuma … “ Chat cut in, his eyes wide, his face revealed how scared he was because of the mistake they have made.

“Master Fu and me were both transformed when we were making the potions and we always sent the kwami away … “ Marinette trailed off. In their haste to fix the miraculous they were not planning well. “I wasn’t planning well.”

“We needed the lucky charm, what else were we supposed to do?” Chat sighed. “But I should have detransformed and bribed Plagg with some cheese to go away and leave us alone for a while.” He shook his head and looked at Marinette guiltily.

“Don’t worry, neither me nor Plagg will know the details of what you did. In fact, I just knew you used the lucky charm, not why.” Tikki admitted. She felt guilty for teasing them in the first place. “The magic prevents us from learning what we are not supposed to know while you are transformed.”

“Oh” Marinette smiled again, relieved that they did not do any serious error of judgement, at least not yet. “But were you supposed to know even that?” She scratched Tikki behind her antenna on the head and the tiny red kwami giggled.

“I can know that I’m not supposed to know … “ Tikki replied and put the last piece of the macaron in her mouth. Marinette looked up from her kwami, Chat watched her with his gentle eyes.

“Perhaps you should detransform and feed Plagg too. You have been transformed forever.” She suggested and looked down at her kwami.

“You’re right, claws in.” Chat spoke before he thought about it.

“Cheese!” Plagg whined so loudly that several guards who were sleeping around started to stir in their sleep.

“There you go!” Adrien replied and tossed one cheese triangle to his ever hungry kwami.

“Why don’t the two of you float away and keep an eye on Peagasus for a while while the two of us work on out problem over here.” Marinette proposed with a smile.

“Another piece of cheese and I might consider it.” Plagg negotiated while he floated right in front of her face while his black tail swished left and right.

“It is not the time for your games Plagg!” Tikki warned.

“I haven’t even used my powers!” Adrien protested.

Marinette pulled Adrien towards the dark, several guards shifted in their sleep.

“We will get more cheese for you Plagg, but please, just go.” Marinette begged.

“Yeah, Plagg, we have some guardian stuff to do and you kwami are not supposed to know about it.” Adrien continued. “Besides, I only detransformed to feed you, and you were fed.” He tried to sound stern (and failed) but Tikki pulled Plagg away and the two kwami disappeared in the darkness.

“So.” Marinette followed the two kwami with her eyes for as long as she was able to see them.

“We still have one ingredient missing.” Adrien looked at the watch in his hand.

“Yeah, but … we need to talk about something else. What Tuzi said ...” She inhaled sharply and then exhaled really slowly while she observed him.

“What she said about the future, yeah.” Adrien scratched the back of his neck with his free hand.

“Yeah, the future.” Marinette wrapped her arms around her. It was starting to feel chilli in the night and she was wearing only her pyjama and there was no magical suit to keep her warm.

“I can’t believe …. were we even supposed to know that?” Adrien frowned. “Maybe we weren’t? Or are we supposed to give it up … on purpose?”

“I don’t know … and just to think of it, everything we did, it was all in vain … “ She raised her eyes. “But maybe that means you will get your father back? Maybe you will get your family back?” She was cold and tired and she started to shiver, but maybe it was just her thoughts that did that.

“I don’t know if I want that … I admit, I’d like to have my father back, and my mother, but he was a supervillain and now he doesn’t even remember me and she … my mother … she …. I just … I don’t know, okay?” He looked at Marinette and noticed that her eyes were becoming wet.

“I wouldn’t mind fighting a few akuma again if you had your family back.” Marinette sniffled. “But … “ She hitched a breath and tried to calm down, the guilt was eating her out, it was a selfish thing to do, to allow someone to get akumatized just because she wanted her boyfriend to be happy.

“Nah, I’m happy as I am.” Adrien smiled and caught a tear that escaped Marinettes eye. He let it drop on the watch in his hand from his index finger. “By your side.” He smiled. She blushed and sniffled. “And I do have a family now, perhaps even more than before.”

“We need to dry it in the fire.” Marinette reminded him and pointed towards the fire that was a few metres away. Adrien tossed it into the fire, suddenly the flame became tall and blue and assumed the form of a mushroom. A few guards opened their eyes.

“Who are you?” One of the guards demanded from the two teens. Adrien pulled Marinette behind him, while she pulled him further into the dark. “There are some kids here that I haven’t noticed last night.” The guard told to the other man who got up and walked away.

“The last ingredient is time.” Marinette whispered to Adrien.

“Yeah, makes sense, the ingredient needed to fix the time travelling miraculous is time.” Adrien teased. They took a few more steps away from the fire until they reached one tree.

“Where are Tuzi and Bunnix?” She looked around.

“They are somewhere about their own time travelling business.” He shrugged. “Why does she need the training so much, it is not like the two of us were trained, our kwami simply told us what to do and we were there in our first battle.”

“Yeah, and some of us did not even listen to all of the instructions.” Marinette reprimanded teasingly. “But time travelling miraculous, it is different, there are many things to do, there is burrow, just like we saw and a bunch of other stuff and Fluff can’t instruct her while she is transformed.”

“Right, he can’t.” Adrien sighed.

“Besides, I think she is not allowed to make mistakes, since she is using time travel, that would be a disaster, and we did make our own mistakes, remember?” She looked towards him. “Especially me.”

“Not as much as me.” He grinned. “Talking about the kwami … where are our kwami? Where did they go?”

“Tikki, are you here?” Marinette called, not particularly loudly.

“Plagg, come over, I know you have the enhanced hearing.” Adrien called.

But there was no response.

“I think they are sleeping somewhere.” Marinette whispered.

“Or Plagg went about to find more cheese.” Adrien shook his head.

“They will find us.” She replied.

“Yeah, they should know where we are.” He concluded.

“So … we wait?” Marinette frowned as she collapsed by the tree.

“Yeah, we wait. We wait for as long as they see fit.” He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer. She leaned her head on his shoulder and he leaned his head on top of hers.

“I guess you’re right.” She affirmed and yawned.

“I missed this.” He sighed happily and closed his eyes.

“What? Late thirteenth century China?” Marinette teased half heartedly, she was getting tired.

“Nah. Us, falling asleep on anything.” He smiled gently.

“What do you mean? You sneaked out each night … “ She protested in a light whisper.

“But last night …” He stopped to think, it was really impossible to say if that was indeed ‘last night’ from any perspective, but he let it be, time travel was confusing and it was something Bunnix did anyway.

“We agreed not to … yeah, I get it.” She muttered.

“Let’s catch up on some sleep Bug.”

“Good night Chaton.”

“Good night Bug.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got a bit carried away with this conversation so the chapter stops here, besides it can be something else than a cliffhanger :)


	56. Wake Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Plagg is searching for cheese, Tikki follows him.  
> Adrien and Marinette wake up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wasn't able to post this to the page, have no idea what's wrong.

56 Wake up

“Where are you going?” Tikki demanded with all the authority of a kwami of creation. She floated after Plagg who all but disappeared in the darkness. All she was able to see were his green eyes, clearly visible in the dark, so she did her best to keep pace and not lose him in the dark.

“Looking for more cheese.” Plagg replied quickly and phased into a leather bag. He appeared back almost in the same moment he phased into the bag. “This smells even worse than the most aged cheese in France.” He used his paw to cover his nose.

“Now I wonder … “ Tikki chirped in teasingly. “What could that possibly be that it smells bad even for you.” She floated side by side to the black kwami who slowly and reluctantly proceeded to look for more cheese between the different items scattered among sleeping guards.

“Why don’t you go inside and look for yourself?” Plagg shot back with his nose firmly pinched. But Tikki did not move a muscle to do that. “I forgot how they kept meat to rot underneath the saddle on their horses.” The black kwami explained.

“Disgusting.” Tikki agreed. But soon her face shifted into mischief. “Well I’m glad there is something that even _you_ find disgusting.” She teased and floated by his side. “Now, can we go back? We should not get too far from our chosen?”

“You heard them!” Plagg brushed her off. “We are not supposed to know what they are doing. It is some kind of a _guardian_ _secret_.” He stressed the last two words mockingly. “They sent us away, so we can do whatever we want and that includes looking for cheese.”

“I’m sure they did not imply that we are free to look for anything suitable for you to devour.” She piped in but her face was stern. “And remember, we are on a mission, this is not a vacation, where are you going? Plagg?” She observed Plagg phase into another bag.

“I think this was an early version of what they call beer in our days.” Plagg shook himself as if he intended to shake some drops off, but he wasn’t wet, he phased through the liquid. “And judging from the state of these guards, I’m surprised there is any of that stuff left.”

“We are not supposed to be looking for the food on our own! Remember when it got us into trouble? Do you want us to get into trouble again?” Tikki whispered while Plagg was searching for any cheese around the sleeping guard.

“They are busy with the guardian stuff!” Plagg retorted. “They don’t need us and … where is that business class cheese when you need it?” He muttered the last sentence. “Besides, there is something else I find disgusting, and that is sugar.”

“You shared a macaron with me, more than once!” Tikki was exasperated. “And stop snooping around, you will get us into trouble.” She continued to scold. “Where are you going? We got too far from our chosen! You will get us into trouble again just like with that chemistry teacher!”

“To the palace! I’m sure the mighty Khan has a cheese stash somewhere.” Plagg replied and floated away quickly, Tikki was barely able to keep pace while she glared at him with her narrowed blue eyes. “Now where would I keep a stash of cheese if I was a Khan and I had a palace.”

“We can’t go to the palace Plagg, that is too far!” Tikki protested. “Our chosen will need us and we will not be there to respond. We can’t just leave them like this, Plagg?” She continued her ramble but Plagg pretended he wasn’t affected by her words although he glanced back from time to time.

“Nah, if they are already finished with that guardian thing, they are probably cuddled together and doing that love stuff. I don’t want to be there. Cheese is much better! Let’s look for cheese.” The small black cat floated away into the darkness.

“Plagg, we got too far, we won’t be able to hear them if they call us!” Tikki warned again and dashed forward to be by his side. She put her hands on her tiny hips. “We are not supposed to abandon our chosen like this!”

“We are not supposed to hear them! Or did you forget why they sent us away?” Plagg retorted dryly and put his tiny hands on his hips. “And I am the kwami that gives his chosen enhanced senses such as much more sensitive hearing, therefore I have to go far, really far.”

“Well, if your senses are so good, so enhanced as you like to brag, I’m surprised it is taking you so long to find any cheese.” Tikki teased, but she was becoming increasingly nervous. Because she did not really see where they were going, she was only able to see Plagg, particularly his eyes.

“You’re right.” Plagg surprised Tikki with his answer as he sniffled the air and concentrated. “I should have smelled cheese if we ever passed by any. I guess these guards were given only as much as they were able to eat for dinner. But there must be a stash somewhere.”

“Plagg, stop! Right now!” Tikki dashed after him into the darkness. “You are being impossible, why can’t you do the right thing for once. Listen to me, we have to go back, I’m sure your chosen has plenty of cheese, you ate enough ...”

Tikki continued her rant and followed Plagg, particularly his eyes, and at one point the tiny floating black cat disappeared, or better, phased through a wall, while Tikki slammed straight into it in the the wall that was hidden by the darkness.

“Oh right.” Tikki shook her head, dusted herself off, then shrugged, sighed and phased through the wall. The first thing that hit her on the other side was smell, unbearable heavy smell that filled her nose and throat and she felt like she inhaled liquid, not air.

“This is heaven.” Plagg announced, his tail swished left and right, his eyes were wider and wider as he glanced from one direction to another, his grin only grew, his tiny fangs were more and more visible and he was drooling.

Tikki pinched her nose and looked around. There was a candle in the corner. The room was filled with shelves and there were lumps of different sizes stored on those shelves and covered in cloths, and it smelled, it smelled awfully.

“This is one day old cheese, you can say it is fresh.” Plagg explained in a tone of a proud museum curator who was bragging about the exhibition he just set up. He patted one lump that was covered with a cloth. Tikki rolled her eyes and tried to breathe on her mouth.

“Ummm” Plagg sighed as he inhaled deeply. “This is goat cheese.” He stated knowingly and then dashed to another shelf. “And this is sheep cheese.” He nodded with a huge self satisfied grin on his face. He made a full circle around the lump and inhaled deeply.

“We are not supposed to just take it on our own!” Tikki warned. She scrunched her nose and pinched it again. “This smell is unbearable.” She muttered and floated after Plagg to another shelf where more cheese was laid to rest.

“Oh, this one has aged … look … it even has mould on it.” He grinned as he uncovered a piece of cheese on the shelf. He pulled the cloth to the side and there was a number of lumps of cheese on it in various states of ageing. Tikki rolled her eyes and kept quiet, not to inhale more smelly air.

“This one is too hard.” Plagg stated as he bounced off the first lump. “This one is softer but not just ready yet.” He bounced off the next one. He continued to bounce off each lump of cheese and commented on its state until he landed on one that did not let him bounce.

“oooh.” Plagg released a satisfied moan. “This one is totally soft inside, just the way I like it.” He rolled over the lump of cheese just like it was bed, and the size of it was just right, for a king size bed for a kwami. “Come on Sugarcube, it is so nice and soft.”

“Don’t call me that.” She retorted back, but then she pinched her nose with both of her small hands and rolled her eyes. If she wanted to talk, she had to breathe more, this way she avoided to sense the smell that simply overwhelmed her.

“This cheese is calling my name, I can feel it, it wants me to make it mine, all mine.” Plagg moaned as he rolled over the chunk of cheese and started to lick it. Tikki wasn’t sure if she wanted to cover her nose, her eyes or her ears, then she given up on any, she was just too annoyed.

“It must be your enhanced hearing because I can’t hear a thing.” Tikki replied flatly. “And I doubt that the mould started to talk yet, as much as this cheese has aged.” She floated away slightly as she searched for a breath of air that was slightly less smelly.

“You know, if the smell is bothering you so much, I know the way to fix it.” Plagg teased and then started to eat the cheese. Tikki found a spot on an empty shelf and watched helplessly. There was no point in her protests, Plagg wasn’t the one to listen, not with cheese around anyway.

Neither Tikki nor Plagg knew how much time had passed since they left their chosen, nor when they were needed to be back, the black kwami finished the chunk of cheese and laid himself on the empty spot on the shelf to rest.

Tikki nervously observed their surroundings, and slowly settled down, she got used to the smell, now that they were not moving from one smelly piece of cheese to another, it was easier to handle because her nose wasn’t hit with a new intense smell each second.

Adrien and Marinette were transformed for so long, the two kwami needed some rest, Tikki had just eaten her macaron but she did not mind getting some peace and quiet, maybe Plagg was right, she settled down, someone had to stay and watch over the kwami of destruction.

Marinette was tired. She fell asleep on Adrien’s shoulder as soon as she closed her eyes. Adrien held her close and allowed his eyes to close too. It was surprisingly warm summer night. He put his head on top of hers and inhaled deeply. He was tired, he needed sleep too.

The two teenagers drifted into a deep sleep, they were hidden from the guards and their rest was much needed. It was dark, but soon the sky started to turn slightly brighter, the dawn was approaching and the guards started to wake up.

Marinette stirred in her sleep. Adrien just pulled her closer. None of them opened their eyes. There was some noise, some commotion going on, people were arguing, in a foreign language, but they both wanted just a few minutes, their sleep was so short. Too short.

People were arguing slightly louder, Marinette felt Adrien moved slightly, but he was warm, and she appreciated his warmth. But then she remembered that they were not back in the temple, there was no sleeping bag, they were in fact again in China, but at a different time.

Adrien slowly opened one eye slightly and became aware that it was dawn, the sun was not up yet, but it wasn’t dark any more. They were hiding underneath a short tree and the branches and leaves hid them from their surroundings, and the surroundings from them.

“We are detransformed.” Marinette whispered lightly. “What if anyone sees us?” Her biggest worry was to keep their identities a secret, even then, although the only two persons who actually knew them were Alix and Max.

“They can’t see us, we are hidden.” Adrien replied sleepily and patted her back to calm her down. He knew the identity of the guardian when Fu was one, but only after the old master was persuaded by Ladybug to reveal himself, so he did not push to reveal himself to the other wielders.

“Peagasus and Bunnix can’t see us, they would recognize us instantly.” She warned. Because it was still important to keep their identities a secret from anyone and everyone, except those monks in the temple who recognized them anyway.

“I don’t see them anywhere. Besides, I’m more worried about Khan’s guards.” Adrien replied and tried to catch a glimpse of the guards through the leaves and the branches that were hiding them from the rest of the world.

“They are not much of the guards.” Marinette noted. “Have you seen them last night?” She rolled her eyes and tried to sneak a peek through the branches too.

“I guess their alert level isn’t very high.” Adrien chuckled.

“Or nobody is guarding the park, the guards are probably active only on the walls that surround it and this is a place for them to rest.” She concluded.

“Right as always, my Lady.” He smiled gently.

“What are they arguing about? Are they looking for us?” Marinette mumbled. “I keep hearing about two intruders … did they catch Bunnix and Tuzi? Or Peagasus?” She opened her eyes fully and looked around but there wasn’t much to see.

“Nope, they did not catch anybody, they want to search … for us I think.” He explained. They quietly unwrapped themselves from each other and shuddered lightly in the cold morning air. Then they crawled to the hole between the branches to peek through.

“They keep mentioning Khan.” Marinette whispered.

“Yeah, I think they are waiting for him to decide on what to do.” He whispered.

They observed a large figure dressed in full armour and decorated in shiny fabrics that flowed all the way to the ground. The man walked over to the group of people who were arguing by the fire that was now extinguished.

“The watch” Marinette whispered quietly. “We left the watch in the fire.”

“The miraculous should not be damaged by the fire.” Adrien whispered. “And we were supposed to leave it.”

“Until the light fades out.” She quoted the instructions. “We were supposed to keep it in the light until the light faded out.”

The man arguing by the fire were now standing straight up, stiff and alert as they watched their mighty Khan, and they were quiet, there was no argument no more, as if everything was clear the moment their Khan appeared.

“What was it that I heard?” Khan demanded as he walked from one of his men to another. “That you saw two intruders?” He stopped by one man who was only half dressed and looked at him up and down. “That two imposters have passed my guards on the walls?”

There was an answer from the guards, but all of them started answering at the same time, using different words, to confirm how they saw two unknown persons by the fire, just moments ago, or some time during the night, there was a disagreement on that.

“Are you sure that was what you saw? And not the insides of your beer bag?” Khan demanded and kicked one item that was laid on the ground. All present guards flinched at the sight of their beloved sack getting a kick.

“We all saw it.” A man by Khan replied. “We all saw the same, two persons, here by the fire.” He pointed at the spot on the ground where Marinette and Adrien probably stood at some point during the night when they were trying to fix the broken miraculous.

“It was two of those four that you have given a task last night.” One man said.

“No, it was two different people, I remember how those from yesterday looked like.” Another man countered.

“They produced flashes of light.” Another added.

“And they spoke in a strange language.”

“They did some strange things I can tell you.”

“And they threw something in the fire and there was a huge column of smoke.”

“Witchcraft!” Several men shot at once.

The mighty Khan listened to everything that was said, he walked over to the remains of the fire from last night, bent over and reached for the shiny object in the ashes.

Marinette’s breath hitched. She covered her mouth with her hand.

“Oh no.” Adrien muttered.

“This is a disaster, total and ultimate disaster.” Marinette muttered.

“Plagg, claws out!” Adrien called. But nothing happened. He looked around in panic.

“Tikki spots on.” Marinette said almost simultaneously. But nothing happened either.

“They … didn’t return yet?” Adrien whispered.

“What if they got lost?” Marinette shot back. “What if they got caught or … “

“Don’t panic, I’m sure Plagg is devouring cheese somewhere.” Adrien pretended he wasn’t panicking.

“But what if they fell ill or something?” She protested.

“Wait, maybe nothing will happen.” He nudged her to calm her down.

“You’re right, maybe it is still just a watch.” She added.

“We can find Plagg and Tikki and collect it later … somehow.” He whispered.

“Yeah, when we get our powers back … it will be easier.” She replied hopefully.

The man reached for the watch and wrapped his fingers around it. Then he slowly started to straightened up. Adrien and Marinette were petrified. They watched as if it all unfolded in slow motion, frame by frame.

Fluff popped out from the watch and stared at Khan.

“Hello master.” The tiny rabbit greeted politely.

“Well, hello, what kind of witchcraft are you?” Khan spoke in gentle voice.

“I am a kwami, my name is Fluff.” The tiny rabbit replied.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ahem :)


	57. Imprisoned

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Khan has Fluff, Marinette and Adrien try to get the watch back.  
> It goes as expected.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aaaaand, action!

57 Imprisoned

Khan held the watch and Fluff popped out of it, they had just began their conversation and Fluff introduced himself. There was a brief moment when Marinette crossed her fingers and hoped that that was all, maybe if Khan never learned what a kwami did … but her hopes got shattered.

“And what do you do?” Khan smiled.

“I can give you powers of time travel.” The rabbit kwami chirped.

“Oh really, and how is that?” Khan demanded.

“Well, you need to transform first, you do that by saying ‘Fluff clockwise’ “ The kwami began to explain. Mighty Khan ignored his men and started to walk away in the direction of the palace, this was between him and the kwami, his men became irrelevant.

“This is a disaster.” Marinette grabbed her hair and pulled. “This is a disaster.” She repeated. “This is all my fault, I should have ...” Adrien pulled her closer and held her firmly close to him, she had to calm down and he knew she was going to make a plan, she just had to calm down first.

“It is going to be okay, we are going to fix this.” Adrien whispered. His hand rubbed circles on Marinette’s back, it was soothing both of them. “It is not your fault, it is mine.” He countered and continued to rub those circles.

Marinette pushed herself away only so much to be able to look at his face and glare at him. Her eyes were watery, she was on brink of tears, and her hands were clenched into fists on his chest while her piercing blue eyes tried to speak when her voice failed her.

“Okay, we are both to blame.” He admitted. “But what were we supposed to do? If we stayed by the fire ...” He trailed off. She slid her fists from his chest and wrapped her arms around him, she pushed her face into his chest and tried not to scream.

“We should have just walked away and did all this somewhere safe, away from anyone else … and why did we send Tikki and Plagg away?” Marinette murmured to his chest. He was certain she was crying now, he felt how his shirt got wet.

“We had to, they were not supposed to witness the procedure. Kwami are not supposed to know how a miraculous can be fixed.” He tried to sound reassuringly, for both of them, he watched how Khan talked with Fluff in the distance, but he wasn’t able to hear them.

“But we just left the watch in the fire and left.” Marinette moaned into his chest. “How could we?”

“Marinette.” Adrien whispered soothingly. “We had to escape and hide and it wasn’t possible to take the watch with us.”

“We should have …. we should have … “ She sobbed into his chest.

“It is useless now to think what we should have done.” He was determined as he watched Khan who was still talking to the kwami.

“But what can we do now?” Marinette whispered. “If we leave the hiding place like this they will catch us instantly.”

“And if we stay, we can’t find Plagg nor Tikki nor take the watch from Khan.” Adrien finished her thought.

“Where is Khan now?” She turned around and looked through the branches.

“He is talking to Fluff.” Adrien shrugged. “Over there.” He pointed through the branches.

“He haven’t transformed yet, maybe if we sneak up to him.” Marinette looked through the branches. “The sun is not up yet, perhaps if we sneak around, maybe we can catch up with him and get the watch … “ She got down and crawled to the side and the next bush.

“After you, My Lady.” Adrien muttered, got down and followed. He soon caught up with her in the next bush, she was looking for the best trajectory that would lead them to Khan without being seen by any of the guards. “Hey, don’t you think we should plan this better?”

“There is no time … “ She trailed off because Adrien chuckled at her mention of the word time. She glared at him. He stopped his quiet laughter and pretended he was serious. She turned away and he grinned again. “And really, wasn’t that my line?” She inquired.

“Yeah, you always scolded me for jumping before thinking, true.” He admitted. But then he decided to correct himself. “And you were right, but I always did it to protect you and … and I didn’t have a better idea at the _time_.”

“And I should have thought this through back in Paris, before we started, and I should have planned this better and I should have … “ She muttered while she crawled further and reached a tree behind which both of them hid.

“No more bushes.” Adrien noticed. “Only tree trunks.”

“Very thin tree trunks.” Marinette noticed.

“And many guards.” He added as he looked around.

“Mostly sleepy guards, not alarmed yet.” She sighed as she followed his gaze.

They continued to move from one tree to another, faster and faster, but they were less cautious, and more guards were waking up each moment, and someone was shouting a warning, and Khan was so close and not yet transformed that they took a run for it.

Khan turned around and saw them, he simply held the watch in his hand and watched them as they ran towards him. It was just a few metres away. Just a few more metres … Khan muttered the transformation words and soon he was washed over by bright blue light.

Adrien threw himself forward. Marinette wasn’t far behind. Going after a villain with superpowers as civilians did not stop them against Hawk Moth. Adrien almost felt the watch with his fingers. Marinette was certain she touched it, but soon they were pulled back.

Both teens were held by two guards each and pushed towards the ground to stand on their knees.

“You are lucky I ordered my guard to catch you alive.” Khan stated as he watched them from above. “Take them to the cell, I will question them later, about how they got inside and about this.” He raised his hand that held the watch.

“Please don’t use it.” Marinette begged. She wasn’t sure if she said anything comprehensible but at least she tried to persuade Khan not to abuse the power he just stumbled upon. “Please don’t use it, it only brings trouble, please.”

“Oh mighty Khan.” Adrien started to talk, as solemnly as he was able while he was forcibly pulled up the path towards the palace. “We beg of you not to abuse the power given to you by the kwami. The consequences of your actions … “

“You will suffer the consequences of your actions.” One of the guards warned him.

Khan definitely heard them both, but he did not look like he cared for their words, he admired his new light blue outfit and was angry at the appearance of the long rabbit ears on the top of his head and was puzzled by the umbrella that appeared in his hand.

“Please, no.” Marinette gave it another try before she was pulled away.

Khan looked at the umbrella, fiddled with the handle, and then opened it by accident. He admired his achievement with a childish joy, he grinned widely and his eyes almost glowed with pride, he aimed the umbrella in different directions and frowned, unsure what was supposed to happen.

“Don’t move it, do not move the umbrella.” Adrien managed to shout before he was silenced again by the guards who forced him towards the palace.

Khan raised the umbrella above his head and studied the handle when the umbrella suddenly closed up on him.

“Ouch” They clearly heard him. He raised the closed umbrella from his head and checked on his long rabbit ears, annoyed that the ears were there and even more by the fact that he was able to feel them.

It was unintentional move when he made a circle with the umbrella. But the portal was created anyway, it glowed yellow and inviting. Khan observed it baffled by his own achievement before he outstretched his arm and tried to touch it with his hand.

To his utter surprise, his hand simply passed through the glowing disc and he wasn’t able to see it any more.

“This is like glowing fog or mist.” He grinned. Several guards who stood by and observed his actions with awe nodded to confirm they agreed. Other guards were hiding from this witchcraft that was discovered by their Khan, and even more were running away.

Khan took a step forward and allowed for his whole arm to pass through the portal. Then he retrieved it back and admired how it was still intact. Then he pushed his hand through the portal again and took one more step forward. Soon the Khan was completely behind the glowing disc.

“No” Adrien screamed. For a moment he managed to pull his hands from the strong grip of the two guards who were pulling him away and he made a step towards Khan, but it was in vain. Khan had passed through and Adrien was caught after only two steps.

“No no no no no “ Marinette repeated desperately, she wiggled one of her hands free, but that was as far as she was able to go. Adrien was already apprehended, Khan had passed through the portal, she screamed in vain.

Adrien and Marinette were pulled into the palace and then into one tiny room on the side, they were barely able to sit side by side when the door was closed behind them.

“This isn’t a cell. I have transformed in janitors closets that are bigger than this.” Adrien muttered as he studied the space around them. There was no way out beside the door. He tried to bang on the door with his fist, but it hurt him more than it produced any noise.

“Stop it, Adrien, you’ll just hurt yourself.” Marinette whispered and wrapped her hand around his wrist to stop him. “We just need to find a way out of here and then look for Plagg and Tikki.” She added quietly and tried to soothe him.

“Plagg!” He shouted from the top of his lungs. “Plagg!” He repeated once he inhaled again.

“Adrien.” Marinette whispered to his ear. “Chat!” She whisper shouted.

“If Plagg appears, I can cataclysm this door and we are out.” Adrien stated and then called for his kwami again.

“If Tikki returns, I can smash this door with my enhanced powers.” Marinette tried to push the door open to demonstrate what she would have done.

“Plagg!” Adrien called again in vain. “He definitely found some cheese if he is not back yet.”

“And Tikki is with him.” Marinette concluded. “Tikki!” She tried to call for her own kwami, but nothing happened.

The tiny space was dark, it wasn’t even sufficiently high for them to stand, a thin line of light that passed underneath the door wasn’t enough to see all the details, but there wasn’t much to see to begin with, few walls, a wooden ceiling, wooden door.

“Perhaps I could try and pick this lock.” Marinette got on her knees and poked at what she assumed was the locking mechanism with her finger, but not much had happened.

“You know how to do that?” Adrien was surprised. “I never knew how to do that, I always used Plagg for that.” He was deep in thought. “Actually, I do not remember I ever used a key, even the front door to the mansion opened to a fingerprint.”

“Well, you can try and open up this one with a fingerprint.” Marinette replied flatly. She tried to feel for the edge of the door with her hands. “This doesn’t look like a sophisticated mechanism, it is probably holding us inside by brute force.”

They examined the space quietly. The door was probably just a thick wooden board fastened to a wall with a latch or something similar. There were scratches on the walls and the door that revealed that the same space was sometimes used to hold wild animals.

“Did you know I’m claustrophobic … a bit?” Adrien whispered while Marinette examined that small opening below the door. She tried to stick her fingers underneath and lift it upwards, but it wasn’t moving.

“Yeah … I remember … “ She replied absent-mindedly. “There was that one time I put you in a sarcophagus in the Louvre. I actually forgot about it for a moment, sorry. Too focused on finding a way out.” She mumbled.

“I … actually I was so angry at Plagg for not being here … and at myself for losing that miraculous that … I forgot to panic, but now I do.” Adrien was breathing heavily but felt as if no air penetrated his lungs and no oxygen reached his brain.

“Okay.” Marinette felt for his hand, but ended up hugging him instead. “Breathe with me, okay?” She whispered gently. She tried to guide him through that, she saw it done on other people, by other people, but it wasn’t working.

“I … I can’t!” Adrien panted. It is dark and we are locked up in here against our will and we can’t get out and ...” He continued to ramble, but as he was speaking, his breathing was slightly less erratic, and his brain was busy forming words.

Marinette tried to soothe him while she was feeling helpless herself. They were locked up and without their kwami. Who knew when they were to be unlocked, Khan said he wanted to interrogate them, but he set off to another time and that was just another problem to solve.

They were locked up and perhaps forgotten until the moment Khan returned to this exact time, which wasn’t very likely to happen before he did some ultimate disaster. She was a hero without her kwami, and her partner was panicking and the only way to solve any of those problems was to get out.

She made herself focus on there and then, she made herself forget about the lost miraculous, the missing kwami, she tried to focus on her surroundings, there had to be a way out of there, she had to go out and find kwami and then find Peagasus, Tuzi and Bunnix.

“Bunnix isn’t here yet.” She breathed out. “Bunnix isn’t here yet.” She repeated louder, her voice full of hope. Adrien stiffened and stopped his erratic breathing. Then he took in one slow breath. “Bunnix isn’t here yet.” Marinette exclaimed.

“What do you mean?” Adrien muttered. “It is good that she isn’t here yet?” He wasn’t sure he got it right. “So she doesn’t see us? So she doesn’t get our identities?” He sounded exasperated. “Sorry Marinette, but if she was here she would have gotten us out.”

“Yes, she would have gotten us out if she was here, but she isn’t here!” Marinette whispered. “Don’t you get it? She is our last resort! If she is not here, that means we can get out of this without her help, otherwise, she would have been here!”

“If she was here … there would have been even less space.” Adrien closed his eyes, he had trouble concentrating and making sense of any information he was given. “But she could smash this door open too.” He was able to visualise that.

“There has to be a way to open it even without the powers.” Marinette let go of Adrien who released a small whine at the loss and almost started to hyperventilate again. “Come on, let’s try this together.” She stuck her fingers below the board that represented the door.

“Okay.” Adrien concentrated on that narrow streak of light and stuck his fingers there as instructed, he ignored the tight darkness all around him. “What do we do now?” He asked then and groaned. “I tried to lift it up, but it isn’t moving.”

“No, don’t lift it up, there is another board just above that prevents it, try to … pull it towards us.” Marinette instructed next, she was trying to do the same with her fingers.

“Pull it towards us? Are you crazy? That would make this space even smaller.” Adrien protested.

“We can push it back out if this doesn’t work … “ Marinette trailed off as she tried to pull the door closer. “Don’t push it up, just try to slide your fingers along the floor and let the door rest on them.” She whispered and hoped he was able to cooperate on that.

“Can you explain me the logic of this, please?” Adrien tried to make himself less claustrophobic by closing his eyes, he imagined he was somewhere else, a wide open space everywhere around him and his lady by his side ...

“It is working.” She whispered again. “It moved, pull some more. This was built to contain animals and people inside, if we pull it inside a bit the bits that hold the latches in place should release them ...” She trailed off and strained herself to pull the board a little harder.

“If the latches were build that way.” Adrien filled in but he pulled nevertheless. A few centimetres more and they heard a tell tale sound that something behind the board had fell, they pulled a few centimetres more and they heard another similar sound.

“Okay, now push.” Marinette grinned.

“I though you would never say … “ Adrien pushed and the board fell to the floor outside with a lot of noise that echoed in the corridor outside and was probably heard all around the palace.

“Yess” Adrien was already standing outside, blinded by daylight.

“Smooth, real smooth.” Marinette crawled out quickly and got to her feet.

“I bet this was heard all over the palace, we better run.” Adrien grabbed her hand.

“Wait.” Marinette took a quick glance around. “They heard it, but nobody saw it.” She bent over and tried to lift the heavy wooden board off from the floor. “If we put this back into place they might assume we are still inside.”

“You’re brilliant as always.” Adrien whispered and helped her quickly. They arranged the board as they assumed it should have looked from the outside and quickly ran away to hide behind a first tapestry in that corridor while they heard the approaching steps.

“Great, another dark enclosed space.” Adrien muttered to himself, but Marinette heard him clearly, she took his hand and tried to shush him to stay quiet while several guards walked dawn the hallway quickly. They listened to the step that approached first, then slowed down, but then continued further down.

“Phew.” Marinette swiped her forehead. She allowed herself to relax a little and take in a breath. “Do you feel this smell?” She inquired and turned around, away from the hallway. This was yet another dark room, but much bigger than the one they just escaped from.

“This place stinks like Plagg’s cheese cabinet.” Adrien noted. Then he started to turn around and observe the room. “I forgot how each tapestry hides something behind it.” He spotted a small source of light close to the entrance to the room.

“Is this cheese storage?” Marinette asked while her nose was pinched.

“Then we found Plagg.” Adrien replied.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> can you smell it?


	58. Time Travel Theory

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bunnix and her 'teacher' have a bit of introductory lesson.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It felt cruel to just throw Bunnix into everything.

58 Time travel theory

Bunnix followed Tuzi between the bushes and the trees in the park that surrounded Khans palace in Xanadu. Both of them were transformed and rabbits see in the dark better than humans so it was rather easy to avoid sleeping guards and trees.

“They are very young guardians.” Tuzi noted offhandedly while she and Bunnix walked away from Ladybug and Chat Noir. She gave them a task to fix the miraculous and she was rather certain that two young and inexperienced guardians had a lot of work to do about that.

“How can you tell?” Bunnix asked before she observed Tuzi. “Is it because of their height? You’re not much taller and I can assure you that there are kids in my class that are younger but taller than me. And height has nothing to do with physical abilities ...”

“No.” Tuzi laughed softly. “If they share a duty of a guardian, that means they got wed by the monks in the temple.” Bunnix gasped lightly. “They may have passed the trials of a guardian and have the skills, but ...” She did not sound patronizing, just thoughtful.

“Ladybug and Chat Noir may be my age, but they have been through a lot already.” Bunnix noted. They walked over grass between the trees silently, the only noise was their talking and after that their breathing, Bunnix followed each step Tuzi had made as a good student.

“Why don’t you tell me what you know about that, about what they have been through?” Young woman whispered and turned around, but then she put a finger over her mouth. “Just wait a minute or two until we are at a safe distance from all these guards.” She warned.

After a minute or two, Tuzi encouraged Bunnix to start talking and the young rabbit hero began with the first akuma and continued with everything she knew. She spoke quickly and up to the point, but she knew a lot, she was in the same class with Alya, she had no choice but to know.

Tuzi listened about akuma battles and Hawk Moth, because she thought there was another reason for the heroes to be there, but then story flipped to Adrien and Marinette and how Hawk Moth was defeated by two civilians in the temple in Tibet.

“Still, Ladybug and Chat Noir are really young to be guardians like this. The training in the temple takes at least seven years for that. They had to go through school and everything afterwards.” Tuzi was deep in thought as if she considered weather to tell something to Bunnix or not.

“I … don’t know about their training … “ Bunnix was unsure if it was up to her to tell how the temple was destroyed and there was no way that the two heroes spent seven years there. “They were in the temple and talked to the monks but … “ She trailed off, only then she comprehended what she had just heard.

“Seven years?” Bunnix almost shouted her last words. “That is too long!” Then she noticed how Tuzi was alarmed (because Bunnix shouted and they could be heard not because the young hero was surprised by the number of years for the training).

“I mean … “ Bunnix schooled herself. “I want to learn and I don’t mind seven years actually, and considering my power is the time travel I can come back at the same moment, but what if I grow?“

Tuzi chuckled lightly while she watched her young counterpart ramble all her concerns and fears. She covered her mouth with her hand and smiled at her antics. Bunnix was a cool girl, but right then she was loosing her grip and spiralled into her own train of thought.

“I mean … I said, my older me said that I would get the miraculous when I’m as old as her! If I return from this.” Bunnix motioned towards her body from head to toe. “To the size of that future me, everyone will notice. I mean, papa is in his own research and Jalil is a bit dense, but still there is no way … “

“Okay, stop.” Tuzi tried to contain her laughter. “First of all, I am not a teacher and this is not a temple.” Bunnix returned a nod. “Second, I was trained in the temple, but they started with me when I was six winters old.”

“Oh ...” Bunnix was even more surprised by that statement. “I am already fifteen.” She continued in tiny voice. Tuzi heard her just fine. “That means … that means that I will be … twenty two when I finish with the training?”

“First years we learned how to read and write, we listened to the stories about history and various skills like cooking, making clothes and making pictures with the coloured sand and practised patience and fighting skills.” Tuzi tried to remember her favourite activities in the temple.

“Hey, I’m in school, know how to read and write, and a lot of history too. Not that I had a choice there due to my papa and Jalil … and I practised several sports and I’m really fast on my rollers and … I don’t do coloured sand, but I spray paint, does that count?” Bunnix grinned.

“Well, that’s covered then … “ Tuzi smiled and looked away. “Then there are other skills, like patience and kindness and empathy and each of us in the temple was taught rather little about other miraculous, just some basic stuff, so I know mostly about the rabbit one.”

“Patience … I can do that, if anyone had ever tested my patience, that was Kim … and Jalil! and Marinette with her crush on Adrien!” Bunnix rolled her eyes. Tuzi chuckled. “Kindness, um, I don’t know if I really do that, that is mostly what Marinette does, and Ladybug and Chat Noir.”

“Well, you are honest. I think you are doing just fine.” Tuzi smiled gently. “Perhaps you should know that I am through twenty winters now and in the temple they would consider me too young to be a teacher yet, in fact I’m not very popular there.” She sighed. “Go on.”

“As for empathy, as I said, it really hurt to watch Marinette suffer through her crush for Adrien, I mean I felt the pain, I just don’t know if it was for her or because of her pining. I’m not a romantic type, sort of ..” Bunnix trailed of.

“Well then we can go straight to the miraculous stuff.” Tuzi started with a small smile. “And since you are not training for a guardian it is sufficient to tell you only about the time travel one!” She smiled more widely.

“Yeah.” Bunnix exclaimed and raised her fist into the air. “I’m positive that other temporary heroes did not receive much training before they were involved in the akuma battles, so I wasn’t sure why the training, and then you told me seven years … “

“That is because the power of time travel and a _temporary_ hero do not really go hand in hand.” Tuzi chuckled. “Usually, the kwami can explain to the wielder all about their powers, or at least the basics, then there are additional power ups that only guardians should know how to make ...”

“Power ups?” Bunnix perked up, there were so many theories and speculations on the Ladyblog and Alix had to know all about them, firstly because Alya was her classmate, but lately she paid more attention because she knew she was about to become a hero.

“Guardians will tell you about that.” Tuzi chuckled. “Although they are young, they certainly know about that, I can tell from the stories you told me, about the times when they glided on ice or swam in the water or ...”

“Guardians … Ladybug and Chat Noir? Yeah, okay, they will tell me about that I guess.” Bunnix shrugged. “Skating on rollers is very much like ice skating, I would be really fast doing that. And I could totally use the swimming power … “ Nah, she wasn’t at all thinking about beating Kim.

“You do know how to keep a secret?” Tuzi inquired next. “It is really important! You will know someone else’s future, you may learn the identities of the heroes and the villains and you will have to keep that secrets. The other heroes are not supposed to know.”

“Um … yeah!” Bunnix grinned, she was certain she was able to keep secrets. She did keep secrets from Jalil and her father, facts that would have made their lives easier (like where they have absent mindedly left their keys ...).

“You will take them to the future, or the past and you might have to prevent them from learning the identities, or all the details that have lead to the event. You might have to watch your loved ones suffer for it … “ Tuzi trailed off with a few tears in her eyes as she watched the young hero.

“Well I have kept mine so far … except … Peagasus doesn’t know my identity, Ladybug and Chat Noir know, of course, I had to pass them the message while I was a civilian, I had no idea my watch was a miraculous, but I might have told Peagasus that there was a message.” Alix admitted sheepishly.

“That … is fine.” Tuzi tried to talk reassuringly. “Fluff will appear only when you are ready … or when you are absolutely needed … when the other heroes can’t solve the problem … or when …. they are no longer available.”

“But that other watch I had before I gave it to the older me … Fluff did not appear.” Bunnix frowned. “I just received a message and passed it on. Then the older me took it in her hands and it activated and she got fluff.”

“That watch you had ... was an emergency watch. In case everything gets destroyed beyond the point of repair, Fluff appears from the watch even if the owner is not trained!” She was explaining calmly. “Even before the wielder is considered trained.” She added more to herself.

“Oh, you mean, I was some kind of emergency superhero on stand by?” Bunnix grinned, this sounded way cooler that she first thought, that watch her old man gave her was way cooler than she first anticipated, she was actually a hero that whole time.

“You … you could thing about it like that.” Tuzi replied calmly. “But then you gave away your your watch to … well yourself.” This actually made a lot of sense to the older hero, she just had trouble to put it into words, and she watched as younger Bunnix nodded.

“And then there was no one on watch with a spare miraculous! A time travelling hero is _always_ on watch, so you were not needed until … well until Fluff asked for you.” Which was, according to mixed information Tuzi just obtained expected to be _later_ … or better yet, when that young wielder was older.

“Oh, I played a lot with my watch, in those first days after I got it. Then I got a message and exchanged the watch and the one I got in return … well it did not glow or produce a kwami, and after Hawk Moth was defeated I did not even expect it to work.” Bunnix admitted.

“Because the future isn’t set in stone?” Tuzi raised an eyebrow. If this girl, an aspiring wielder of the rabbit miraculous was ready to accept that she might have never had another opportunity to exercise her powers, then maybe she was the right candidate … just like her.

“Yeah, because Adrien and Marinette defeated his father and his secretary.” Bunnix replied glumly. “I assumed that maybe then there will not be an akuma from the future.”

“But you still had the same watch that the older you gave yourself. I have just asked the guardians to fix it.” Tuzi replied. And she knew the purpose of this visit was to reinstall an emergency watch and having a spare watch was so much batter than having to give away your own.

“Not that I was able to tell the difference, the hologram only appeared when I had my birthday and when I was supposed to pass a message to Ladybug and Chat Noir.” Bunnix cut in. She hated to admit that, but she was often disappointed with how dormant the watch was.

“Since this is not an emergency … “ Tuzi trailed off, she wasn’t absolutely certain in her own words, she expected she was wrong this time, but it was still her secret to keep. “We can start with the training and learning about powers of your miraculous. “

“What about my powers then?” Bunnix inquired. She thought how she already knew a lot, she saw her older self in action, she sort of received the first hand training from herself, she was rather certain she mastered it all beautifully, just no yet.

“Right. So you do know the basics, how to transform and detransform and how to create a portal in time and go through it obviously.” Tuzi smiled thoughtfully. “That is as much as a kwami would tell you.” There was a strange undertone in her voice.

“Yeah, I guess I have proven it by bringing us to this time … “ Bunnix fiddled with her umbrella unsure weather or not she should admit it. “Fluff told me about that but I … I didn’t really know when to go, this was just random.”

“Everything happens for a reason, you have chosen this time you just did not know it, I don’t know, I never tried to use my power without setting the time when I wanted to go.” Tuzi admitted. “Maybe I envy you for having the _time_ to do such experiments.” She smiled.

“But you have the power of time travel, you can make the time.” Bunnix grinned excitedly eager to have some fun with a fellow hero who had the same powers.

“This power is never to be used for selfish reasons.” Tuzi warned. “That is one of the reasons why I was given this power, I guess.” She looked down at her feet.

“Um … right.” Bunnix muttered. So there was no organizing competitions with Kim and beating him with the help of a miraculous, there was no outsmarting Jalil and his stupid theories by proof she was able to collect using the power of time travel.

“Right.” Tuzi watched her young fellow hero carefully, she watched and waited to see when and if the teenager was going to accept the terms of use for the rabbit miraculous, there should be no pretence, only pure determination, and then she got it.

“I’m okay with that.” Bunnix concluded. “I don’t want to mess up the past.” She stated firmly. “Just, there were some events in history … it is really tempting to be able to fix that, to reduce or avoid the pain and the suffering … “

“Sometimes, bad things have to happen to people, other times it happens to other beings, look at this city of Xanadu, animals and forest have been moved to make space for people, but people can’t really live without them, so Khan removed people from this park and settled animals here.”

“I … um … “ Bunnix looked around, they were surrounded by trees and bushes and she was able to see several kinds of animals who used them for hiding, but the guards that slept around fires on a small clearing nearby were also clearly visible.

“You have to make sure that there is no catastrophic event, caused by magic or misuse of a miraculous, that would change the course of history to lead into a complete disaster!” Tuzi stated calmly. “But the evil has to be caused by magic.”

“How will I know about such event, how will I know that something will lead to such a disaster, how … do I wait for the disaster to happen and then determine what caused it and then go back in time to the point where it all started.” This all started to sound like a job of solving mysteries and it was exciting for Bunnix.

“Wait?” Tuzi was baffled. “No, you do not wait, that is not why we practice patience.” She sighed. Nope, she wasn’t a teacher, but her teacher also wasn’t very good, he was the guardian in the temple who considered time travel unnecessary complication and huge threat.

“No waiting?” Bunnix tilted her head and watched Tuzi. “Right I can travel in time! Back into the past, but also in the future! I can simply travel forward on some kind of regular time patrol and check that everything is unfolding okay and … “

“What if you see your own future? And you like it? Or not?” Tuzi asked next.

“The future is not set in stone.” Bunnix shrugged and smiled while she repeated a saying that she heard so many times. Besides, if she saw something she did not like, it was a fair warning to adjust her actions.

“Well, you could do that by going on patrols as you said, but there is a better way.” Tuzi stated with a small smile. “I wish my teacher told me about this, but he did not, he probably didn’t know. Fluff mentioned it was possible to monitor multiple events from multiple times.”

Bunnix was all ears (pun intended). Her rabbit ears raised high into the air and spread lightly like antennae as if they were trying to catch each word before it escaped into the thin night air around them, forever lost in wide space and passage of time.

“Rabbit’s burrow is a place with multiple exits.” Tuzi smirked. “You can create your own place in time from which you can monitor what is going on at different times. It is also a safe place, sort of a hiding place, from where you watch other heroes and events.”

“Oh, so cool, so I can … “ Bunnix was already rather excited.

“But!” Tuzi raised her finger. “And this is important.” She stressed the words. “You only watch, you do not intervene, it doesn’t matter how painful it is to watch and do nothing. That is where you need patience, you need to sit and do nothing, most of the time.” The last words were barely a whisper.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there was a sentence in this chapter that inspires me to write a whole other fic ugh!


	59. ... And Practice One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bunnix gets her first lesson

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Got a bit carried away :)

59 … And Practice One

“But why do I have these powers then?” Bunnix protested. “Why? If I’m supposed to just sit and watch and do nothing?” She demanded. This was no better than watching news on TV and being frustrated about them, just recording the facts for history.

“Only in a case of an event, caused by magic, that was so bad that it lead to the end of the world, basically, to a point where Ladybug is unable to reverse the damage that was done.” Tuzi was speaking with her index finger raised and observed her student carefully.

“Right, once Ladybug is out of the picture, for whatever reason, once the magic villain goes too far and things can’t be fixed entirely, okay, I get the difference. So I only watch for Ladybug?” Bunnix tried to interpret and simplify what she was told.

“It is not only that, it is more complicated, there is no simpler way to explain this, but, when it happens, you will know! Now, let me show you my burrow.” Tuzi did not wait for Bunnix to affirm she agreed to the last proposal before she called for her power.

“Now, you are still young and you detransform soon after you call for your power, right?” Tuzi asked and got affirmative nod and a hum as a response. “That means you will be able to make your burrow fully only once you are an adult.” That was clear.

“Now, whenever you bring a guest to your burrow, use something to cover their eyes, your guests are not supposed to see their future, you know, not all people are able to handle that.” Tuzi warned and fetched a bowl that she put on top of Bunnix’s head.

“What’s this?” Bunnix inquired a she touched the bowl. “Oh it is a simple ceramics bowl.” She sounded slightly disappointed. “Although it is beautifully painted.” She added offhandedly. “And how am I supposed to learn anything if I do not see the insides of your burrow.”

“I will show you what I decide is safe for you.” Tuzi replied while she wasn’t entirely sure how training was supposed to work.. “You are not supposed to see something else by accident.” She turned around and observed the scene around her, she released a long exhausted sigh before she started to tidy up.

They stood in something that resembled a large room. There were plenty of old yellow papers of different sizes scattered all around. Some of them had only letters written all over them, others had pictures painted, with more or less details, few were simple drawings of cave men.

On several pieced of papyrus, these pictures sometimes moved, and few of them were changed as if animated and showed the same scene but from a different angle. Tuzi glanced over the mess that was her burrow with a knowing glare, she knew where everything was supposed to be.

“I think it is all right.” Tuzi stated deep in her thoughts. “This is all in order and I do not see you on any of these right now.” She glanced once more. “You can remove the bowl now. By the way, you can use something else than a bowl in your burrow once you make one.”

“Cool.” Bunnix held the bowl. “I might use the same stuff. It doesn’t really matter, it is not me who will carry that on my head in my burrow.” Then she glanced around, her burrow on the other hand, was going to look far more modern, she was already able to imagine it.

“Now, here you can read about different events in history and you can see a few of them on these drawings and pictures, and if they change, that means these are not yet settled, or you can take one event … “ She reached for one large piece of papyrus.

“Here, now you can see what actually happened here, or is going to happen, the burrow is not set in any particular time, there can be multiple time lines and … Um, that is more complicated, now let me show you about this one.” Tuzi held out the papyrus.

As she pointed towards the words that were written, a simple drawing on the top of the page changed shape to illustrate the events that were described on the papyrus.

“So this is the visit of a traveller from Europe, he calls himself Marco Polo and he claims he is from Venice, these events unfolded last month when he visited the Khan. He was allowed to wander around and explore the surroundings, quite a rare honour.” Tuzi shrugged.

She observed the drawing with concern, it was still moving, there were several outcomes possible, and she was concerned about what was going to unfold, she knew it was important that the travel of that particular person completed.

“And this one?” Bunnix pointed to more elaborate painting of the whole city of Xanadu with two rounds of protective walls, the houses, the tents, the cattle and people and a huge oversized palace painted in the middle of the park.

“This is where and when we met.” Tuzi replied. “You can see the permanent palace built from stones and wood and the elaborate mobile palace that you and your friends helped build yesterday and the people who live here.”

And she already knew that if they let the story of the city unfold, the palace and all the dwellings were about to be destroyed and abandoned, but that was not their job to fix, that was just the history that was supposed to happen.

“That is the great flood of several thousand years ago.” Tuzi explained quickly while Bunnix studied a piece of papyrus that was so wet that droplets of water dripped from it, it depicted waves and several fish, but there was no explanation written on it.

“That story is considered only a legend.” Bunnix muttered to herself. She tried to find any clue on the irregular piece of paper that contained the drawing, but there wasn’t much to see, and there was no inscription to clarify. “How do you know for sure?”

“It was an old case of a dragon wielder who went slightly … mad?” Tuzi shrugged. “I mean, everything was cleared up by Ladybug of course, but the event remained in human memory. And … actually … there was a service of time travel needed for that one.” Tuzi grinned.

“Oh, the dinosaurs.” Bunnix grinned at the next drawing. “And the mammoth.” She pointed at another one. There were other drawings from the early stages of the Earth’s geological past and Bunnix admired the amount of information hidden there.

Tuzi caught a glimpse of Ladybug and Chat Noir she just met during the night on one of the pieces of paper and she observed it with interest. She definitely saw them before, but that was in the future, vary far in the future.

Bunnix was busy while she admired some other depiction that did not require additional explanation and Tuzi searched for more papers with Ladybug and Chat Noir. And there she saw her, she raised her eyes quickly to check, it was her, the Bunnix with pink hair from her burrow, just taller.

She was able to see the time travelling akuma who messed up a timeline temporarily (oh this is such a stupid sentence, really) and she clearly saw when Bunnix chose to become trapped in a piece of stone that was carved with Egyptian symbols.

“But what about that one?” Bunnix asked next as she pointed to a city by the side of an ocean that was painted on another piece of paper. “Or that one.” The last piece Bunnix asked about depicted a temple in high mountains.

“These are different places and at different times. In order to make the burrow really work I may have borrowed the powers of the horse miraculous, well the wielder helped me to create this.” Tuzi shrugged. “The powers of time travel and teleportation are connected.”

“This one.” Tuzi pointed to the temple. “This is the temple where the guardians of the miraculous train other guardians and most of the wielders.” She explained briefly and waited to get a nod from Bunnix that she understood.

“You were trained there?” Bunnix inquired. “Am I … supposed to be trained there?” She studied the drawing more carefully, it had so many details, much more than the drawings she studied before that one, as if each detail on that picture mattered.

“There are many different duties to train for, the wielders can’t really train in the temple, you can’t stay transformed there and … and time travelling heroes are not trained in the temple too … in the case that one of us … mess up?” Tuzi tried to be smooth, and failed.

“I can imagine that heroes who are testing their superpowers can do a lot of damage.” Bunnix remembered, rather vividly, just how much damage her and Jalil were able to make in their home while they tested their own ‘human’ powers.

“That is why you can enter the temple only as a civilian.” Tuzi smiled. That was such a simple rule, and that was how all the wielders were able to live together and still keep their hero identities a secret from each other, if the teachers insisted on that.

“But here!” Bunnix exclaimed and pointed her finger. “I can see a transformed person enter the temple.” Actually, if one didn’t have any prior knowledge, that was merely an oddly dressed masked person in front of the temple entrance, but both heroes knew what that meant.

“Let me correct myself ...” Tuzi snatched the paper from Bunnix. “If you enter the temple transformed, your powers are weakened to the point that they become useless and you allow the temple monks to influence you, to … to make you denounce your memories.”

“Oh.” Bunnix was not sure if she was getting this clearly. She observed the papers and the pictures on them. Suddenly the words started to blur and the pictures were moving like crazy before they disappeared completely. Bunnix held her head and started to feel dizzy.

Tuzi looked unaffected by the circumstances at first, the scroll she was holding showed the picture of the temple that did not change much, but then the older rabbit looked at other papers and many of them turned into a blurry mess, one by one.

“What is going on?” Bunnix screamed. Tuzi frowned and looked from one papyrus to the next, she unfolded several scrolls that were put on the side and checked those too. Some were completely blank, other contained several random words, and there were a few completely garbled.

“Someone is messing up the time lines.” Tuzi muttered to herself and observed with caution how yet another one of the scrolls became a garbled mess of characters and unconnected lines that danced around the paper.

“Something like a Timetagger akuma?” Alix was quick to try and think of something that would mess up history like that, and if someone threw persons back to random points in time, history would change. “But that guy _was_ defeated?” Suddenly the two rabbits stared at each other.

“Actually, that guy is far in the future for both of us.” Bunnix corrected herself. “Think about it … what if he sent someone like … I don’t know, mayor Bourgeois to this time, or earlier or what if he sent himself much further back in time of what if … “

“Stop!” Tuzi raised the palm of her hand. “We need to find the point where it started, a point before it all went wrong.” But one look over their papers showed them that there were plenty of garbled moments in all ages of history, future included.

“How do you decide ...” Bunnix trailed off. They were both rather lost in the mess. “That is the future from now … “ Bunnix pointed to one of the scrolls that depicted rather modern scenery that only changed a little. “And that one too.” She recognized the Eiffel tower on it.

“Quick, there!” Tuzi took the paper with the painting of a harbour city and hung it onto the wall, once it appeared there, the paint started to glow. Bunnix thought that this one was going to be messed up too, but Tuzi grabbed her hand and pulled both of them into the painting.

“This one doesn’t flip from one state to another. It has to remain stable to avoid a paradox, whatever is going on, it depends on what happened there.” Tuzi explained while they passed the portal, the next moment, both heroes stood in a busy street of a busy old harbour town.

“Why are we here?” Bunnix whispered while she observed her surroundings. “And where are we … and when?” There were so many questions and no answers, nothing to hold on to. “And what are we supposed to do?”

“This moment in time, this place, it wasn’t disturbed by whatever messed up the rest of the history.” Tuzi explained quickly, her eyes frantically searched their surroundings for anything or anyone that posed danger, but all she saw were several pairs of curious eyes.

“Maybe this is the place and time from which the disturbance came from?” Bunnix suggested. She felt like she was getting a glimpse of the complex duties of a wielder of a time travel miraculous. She had no idea what they were looking for, but she was going to do her best to find it.

“I don’t know this place, I don’t even know when are we.” Tuzi admitted. “I mean, I know that this is a coastal town, a harbour in China, but I have never been here, and I have seen ships like these only in my burrow.” She motioned towards large sailboats in the harbour.

“Um, we are in China, definitely.” Bunnix concluded quickly as she observed people who moved around them. Few of the people spared them a glance, several pointed a finger and laughed, other simply shook their heads and moved on.

It was a busy harbour, people moved around quickly and mostly minded their own business ans they searched for something to trade. There were parcels wrapped in cloth and plenty of wooden boxes ashore, some were loaded onto ships, other were unloaded and everyone was loud.

“Judging from the shape of those ships this is … this is late eighteenth, perhaps early nineteenth century in my calendar.” Bunnix continued. She observed their surroundings with a serious expression and tried to remember what she was taught.

“This is the future.” Tuzi stated calmly and observed their surroundings with curiosity. Everything was new to her, it wasn’t as grand and covered in gold and marble as the palace of Khan in Xanadu and it wasn’t like the temple in Tibet that held magic on its own, but it was enchanting.

“Nah, this is the past.” Bunnix grinned and looked around, if she was only able to get a photo of those ships and items they traded, her father would have been proud, although it wasn’t as old as the period he studied which was far far further in the past.

That reply made Tuzi laugh out loud and draw more unwanted attention to them, so she pulled Bunnix to hide between several particularly large and smelly barrels. Both of them were relieved when the men who were about to approach them were called up to do something else.

“What’s this?” Bunnix pinched her nose and pointed towards a wooden barrel that they were hiding behind. The smell that was coming out from it was too intense to be bearable from that proximity.

“Probably salted fish.” Tuzi did the same, she pinched her nose and both of them took a few more steps to find less smelly object to use as their heideout.

“If this is the future, are you supposed to see this?” Bunnix teased while her nose was still closed so the voice came out in a different pitch. “Maybe it is me who should be in charge of what are we supposed to be doing here.” She added flatly, but Tuzi smirked and replied nothing.

“This is the place where we are supposed to do something, I just don’t know what yet.” Tuzi looked at the ships astonished by their size and shape. “That piece of papyrus directed us here, this is the moment when something happens that we have to change. Or maybe there is just something to see.”

“I see … “ Alix looked around. “This is the age when the opium trade was at its peak, now if we are not allowed to prevent some historic events then ...” She trailed off while Tuzi shook her head. Then they both looked to different directions and tried to see anything out of the ordinary.

“We are not allowed to prevent any event that you consider historic.” Tuzi stated bluntly. For her, this was technically the future, but she understood rather well that his was probably ancient past for her companion. “Just look for anything out of the ordinary.”

“I don’t see anything out of the ordinary.” Bunnix noted. Everything she saw seemed like the usual harbour business, well usual for a period about two hundred years before she was born, but still, it resembled old paintings and descriptions rather well.

“Everything I see is out of the ordinary.” Tuzi chuckled. “But I do not see anything that would be caused by magic.” She sighed. “Or perhaps all of this is.” She let her eyes trail over the scene and tried to focus on the details, maybe there was something there.

“Nah, this all worked without magic, trust me.” Bunnix replied reassuringly. “If you saw what they had in my time...” She trailed off, because what if she wasn’t supposed to tell? What if this was a test to see if she was able to keep a secret.

“I believe I have.” Tuzi muttered to herself. Ever since she built that burrow, it was the place where spent a lot of her time, she read and saw in drawings the events that unfolded long ago, depicted in the ancient chants that monks loved to repeat in the temple. But she also had a peek into the future.

“I know I’m not supposed to tell you about the future, but back in your burrow, you were able to see it, quite a lot, didn’t you?” Bunnix heard the previous quiet statement rather clearly thanks to her giant rabbit ears.

“You are able to look into the future and into the past, just like me. Some villains can travel in time too, or mix it all up, just like we saw it happen. Actually, it may be useful to explain when I come from ...” Tuzi stopped her story when she heard someone walk in their direction.

“We should not draw too much attention to ourselves here.” Bunnix felt the urge to hide too, she stared at a man who was dressed up in western fashion, his huge red nose dominated his facial features while his huge belly hung over his waist.

A group of men were coming from the other side and Bunnix accidentally tipped over a small cart of fish that spilled over the stone embankment. That group of men went quickly after the fish, while the two heroes had little time to hide better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tuzi would probably not have screens in her burrow but something more familiar to her.


	60. ... and more practice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bunnix and Tuzi have an opportunity to observe the events from the story of Oliver and Therese.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a little bit of classic romantic novel intrusion heh heh heh

60 … and more practice

“This piece of the timeline was stable, something happened here, something that allowed the other timelines to be disturbed.” Tuzi whispered and observed their surroundings with caution.

“We have to prevent it then.” Bunnix was determined.

“That … is not our task, we just need to know what magic was going on here and then pick up a hero to deal with it.” Tuzi replied quietly. “We seldom fight, only if we find another time traveller then ...” She trailed off and observed Bunnix with wide eyes, there was another time traveller right beside her.

“So, we are looking for a time travelling villain.” Bunnix narrowed her eyes and looked around.

There was a long quiet moment, the men who almost found them have walked away with the fish, the two heroes and that older man were temporarily alone.

“How long do we wait?” Bunnix inquired. “I’m not impatient, but maybe if we split ...” Tuzi shook her head, she knew what was a possible reason, another time traveller, an inexperienced one, might have messed up the timelines, but it was up to them to fix that.

“Maybe if we detransform, we can walk around and blend into the rest better?” Ashed a short hero with pink hair who was wearing a pyjama before she transformed.

“No.” Tuzi rushed her answer. “This could take months, even years, because the burrow is not that precise, and this time it was all messed up. We do not age while transformed so I do not expect you to grow either if that is what worries you.”

“Good. I can wait.” Bunnix grinned. She was able to wait, she was patient, she was able to watch the paint dry,quite literally, if that was a spray paint on a wall and part of a painting that she was working on then yes, she was definitely patient.

The man stepped away from the smelly fish and held a tissue to his nose. He stood really close to the two rabbit heroes who were hiding underneath a folded sail and other equipment that awaited to be loaded onto the sailboats in the harbour.

“Monsieur de Vanily!” A man was shouting and panting, he was running across the dock. The man who observed the water did not move. “Monsieur!” The first man shouted. “Monsieur de Vanily, we have another opportunity for trade now if you only ...”

“No.” The man with the large red nose, and even larger belly, Monsieur de Vanily, replied shortly. His eyes were watery and her continued to stare into the water surface. “No.” He repeated again when the slender man was by his side.

“But Monsieur de Vanily!” The young man started to protest, he spoke in rushed and hushed words as he explained his trading idea and his eyes darted all around them. He did not want to be overheard so someone else used the opportunity he just stumbled upon.

“Monsieur Graham!” Monsieur de Vanily cut him off with loud and harsh pronunciation of the young man’s name. “I have made a deal with a friend of mine and I shall hear him out first.” He did not care if anyone overheard him.

“But Monsieur Rufus he … “ Both Bunnix and Tuzi were able to see the disgusted expression on the face of the young man. “He is too busy testing _the goods_ you brought for trade and he is rather determined to reach the bottom of each cup ...”

The big old man rubbed his belly affectionately, his glassy and unfocused eyes revealed he liked to taste his own goods too, while his red nose and belly indicated that the man and the bottom of a cup were not strangers either. He just grinned in self satisfied manner.

“Trust me, the deal I have made is perfect. Besides, it will allow me to marry off my youngest daughter and with that I shall call my travel here a success.” Monsieur de Vanily stated proudly as he fiddled with his belt and tried to make little more space for his belly.

“Marry your daughter, Therese? She is to be married?” Mr Graham reacted without thinking, but then he quickly schooled himself. “I mean, that doesn’t mean that you should not reconsider the trade deal I managed to arrange.”

“Yes, Therese is to be married to Rufus! Why else would I drag her around half of the known world!” The older man chuckled. “And I consider herself lucky to be wanted at all by a man who is so well off, especially after what her older sister had done.”

The younger man had difficulties breathing after hearing the news, he stared at the older man with a mixture of bewilderment and rage. He liked Therese a lot, perhaps he even loved her, they spent so many nights chatting on their way over as they both met on the deck of the ship, the nights were the only time of the day when it wasn’t too hot to be there.

“What?” Monsieur Oliver Graham had only the vaguest idea about what happened, Therese only told him how one of her older sisters was in a convent. His face was turning red quickly, he clenched his fists, but then he started to calm down, there was a plan forming in his head.

“A young gentleman such as you, Oliver, has to prove himself first before he can marry, especially if the girl’s father has such good connections as I have.” The older man carried a self satisfied smirk, but he spoke slowly and mumbled, obviously under influence.

“Does she know?” Monsieur Graham asked quietly, but his voice was cold and determined. He glared at the older man and assumed he already knew the answer. That girl kept talking about her plans when she returned back home.

Oliver had an idea that Therese liked him back, and if his business plans were to be fulfilled, he expected his position in the company to be substantially better and then he was going to ask for her hand but … this spoiled all his plans.

“Why would I bother her little head with such details. She is too busy taking care of her dresses. And she better took good care of them that is all the dowry she will get.” The old man chuckled. “I’m sure Rufus can find her a good seamstress here.”

Cold shivers run down Oliver’s spine. That guy, Rufus, he liked to be called that name although it was different than his real name and surname, he was as old as Therese’s father, and since she was the youngest of many daughters, that was rather old. There was no way for Therese to be happy with that guy.

“You are still very young, and with your ambition, I can tell you are going somewhere, but why would you rush into a marriage? Enjoy life, have fun, try out the girls here, I wish I had your age … “ Then he trailed off and mumbled something incoherent.

“Sir … “ Oliver was taking deep breaths to calm down. “I beg of you to reconsider my trading plan, this could be a more permanent affair, a long lasting contract, not just for one journey.” His words were full of meaning he wanted to add that he wanted to earn his daughter.

“I will keep that in mind, young man.” The older man stressed the last two words in a tone that only stressed his power and then he simply held the handkerchief to his nose and determinedly stared off into the distance. The young man knew when he was dismissed.

“With your permission I shall now take my leave.” Oliver took a short bow, turned around and walked away. That was a truly important hint, his ideas were dismissed, and the girl he liked was treated as luxury goods to trade, by the same two men, he needed a solution.

“I want to follow that guy.” Bunnix whispered and pointed towards Oliver who was just laving. Tuzi looked like Ladybug who stared at the lucky charm she got before she knew how to use it, and Bunnix had a similar expression on her face.

“We should stay hidden and watch this guy.” Tuzi whispered, but the older man just stood there by the shore and watched the ships in the harbour. Both heroes stayed in the same place, although Bunnix bent her body to be able to see where the young man walked away.

Tuzi tapped her foot nervously, it was a habit she was trying to get rid of, because it could have revealed their hiding place, but she did it rather often, as if she had no control of that. Then Bunnix started to tap her own foot and it was clear that it was time to move.

“However, we might miss nothing if we go after the young one for a few minutes.” Tuzi grabbed two pieces of cloth to cover their rabbit ears. Cloth covered most of their upper bodies so if they simply walked and did not draw attention to themselves, it could pass.

Two curious young women were tempted to turn here and there and have a look at several interesting things, but the target was moving away and they had to hurry. They found Oliver in a nearby street, he was talking to a young woman.

“That must be the girl they talked about.” Bunnix spoke quietly and both of them entered a garden nearby to sneak through the bushes and flowers and stalk the conversation of the two youngsters, both of them lead by the instinct that this was important.

“She is younger than me.” Tuzi whispered. Then she released a breath and shook her head. She looked at Bunnix and tapped her shoulder. “You will have to keep an eye on your real age, the time we spend transformed doesn’t count!”

“Okay, I get it.” Bunnix shrugged. She looked at her older counterpart with wide and curious eyes, young and hopeful, yes she got it in theory, but she had no idea what it meant to watch the years go by and not be affected by it, at least not physically.

“I have already been through thousands of years, probably, just while I was building the burrow, and lived at least a hundred while transformed.” Tuzi explained and her eyes looked old, very old while she spoke, her shoulders deflated.

“I can do that.” Bunnix shrugged, she sounded flat, emotionless, because she saw that what awaited her wasn’t all fun, but she was determined to do it. “We are the weapon of the last resort, we are not allowed to crumble under the weight of our duties.”

“Or time.” Tuzi winked and straightened up. “It is odd to have someone to talk to, the other heroes, they detransform and talk to their kwami but when we are on a mission, we stay transformed and alone, we can practise meditation and ...”

She trailed off, they approached the couple and had to stay quiet if they did not want to be heard, their rabbit ears allowed them to hear each word of the conversation that was going on.

“Did he listen to you? Did you get your deal?” The young woman asked excitedly. Her eyes sparkled and she smiled at the man, her cheeks were slightly flushed. It was obvious she liked the young man, she liked him a lot and she wanted him to succeed.

“Therese, your father brought you here to marry you to his business partner. That is why he insists on you having dinners with that guy. You … you are not going back home.” He was barely able to pronounce the last words.

“What?” Therese protested. “I will … I will simply take my dowry and buy me a ticket back, I can go to a convent like my sister, there is no way I’m marrying that old … “ But her determination crumbled, she slumped and her shoulders started to shake. “I should have known!”

“You are not getting a dowry, all you can get are the clothes you brought with you, and considering that silk is much cheaper here, I doubt they are worth much if you sell them over here.” Oliver spoke in hushed and gentle tone while his eyes were filling with tears.

“I … “ Therese hitched a breath. “I actually overheard him on the boat one evening, on our way over here. But … but he was drank and he wasn’t making much sense and I wanted to throw myself of the ship that night or something.”

“Was that the evening when we talked for the first time?” Oliver smiled gently. “I mean, the first time we talked alone.” He remembered how dejected and lost she was, she had just escaped the cabin to catch some fresh air and he was the first person she talked to, besides her father, since they started the journey.

“No.” Therese shook her head. “We started our night talks a few days after we left Europe. This was … I overheard him while I was sneaking out to meet you but then they almost caught me and I hid in a box … remember that night when we missed each other?”

“Oh yes, I actually prefer to remember the night after that one.” His face split in a smile and his eyes glowed. He waited for her, and searched for her all over the deck, but he kept stumbling upon other people and concluded there were not many places for the two of them to meet in secret.

“That is all you think about.” She smacked him in the arm. “The ship had docked the next day and we were the only ones who did not go to the shore. There was nobody there to catch us.” She smiled dreamily, but quickly dread crawled up on her face and she quickly looked around.

“Nobody saw you, don’t worry, at least, nobody important.” Oliver chuckled. “Besides, what anyone will see is a distinguished young gentleman talking with a distinguished young lady … and if you ruin your reputation you may not be a good wife for Rufus.”

“I still can’t believe that, not after my sister ran away to not get married. I … the morning after I heard that I persuaded myself I just imagined that, that I imagined it was me about who my father was talking about, I mean, it could have been her.” She whispered because she did not trust her voice.

“Marry me!” Rufus whispered and took one step closer. His knees were touching her skirt. “We can elope, we can get married.” He observed how her expression changed. He wanted to hold her hand but wasn’t sure if she was going to allow him that in the daylight.

“I would have dropped on one knee, but then the subject of our conversation would be clear to everyone.” He added quietly. His eyes flicked around aware that anyone could see them. This was not the way he intended to do his proposal.

They glanced towards each other nervously. Marriage was a business deal, but here they were acting on their feelings, that both had too many, and they were taught that doing that was not wise, if not childish and stupid.

Bunnix was bored, she did not even try to hide how bored she was, unless those two were a kind of secret magical heroes who merely had some unresolved love issues, this was a waste of time. Or maybe that Rufus guy or Therese’s father were actually magical villains to be defeated by those two civilians …

Tuzi was entirely consumed by the conversation, she watched every move, absorbed each word, her eyes were getting teary for the pain of the two young people they listened to, she swallowed when they gulped down their pain, it was as if she was watching a film.

“I...” Therese looked at Oliver. “You will loose your position, my father can condemn you, that Rufus guy, he is powerful, he has money, they might seek revenge, they will make you pay for it, it is better if I just run away, just like my sister did.”

“No. I mean, I don’t have much to offer and you deserve a man who is better off but ...” He stopped talking, she took a step back quickly and put an index finger over her mouth. She mouthed later and turned towards someone who was coming from behind their backs.

It was the older man from the harbour, Therese greeted him politely, like the daughter she was, but her hands were trembling. The older man simply nodded and turned around. The two youngsters exchanged a glance and walked after him.

“You know, I doubt we are here to watch cheap romance unfolding live.” Bunnix spoke to Tuzi while they watched the trio walk up the street towards a building that they entered. But there was no response, Tuzi was tearful.

“She did not even get a chance to give him an answer.” Tuzi sniffled. Then she looked at her teenage friend and smiled. “And there was nothing I should have done, we are not here to interfere, you see how hard it is.”

“So we do not give each other code names in the form of flowers and make a dubious and complicated scheme to make those two involved romantically and then fail spectacularly because one is oblivious and the other is flustered?” Bunnix chuckled.

“No?” Tuzi whispered back and gaped while she tried to process what she just heard.

“Never mind.” Bunnix grinned. “But I might tell you that story just to kill time if we are to stay here and wait for something to happen.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It is only a question of time (pun unavoidable) before (huh look another pun) this gets messed up too.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!  
> (also comments, welcome!)


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